Dual Group One winner Mostahdaf will retire to the stallion ranks at Shadwell’s Beech House Stud after his final career start in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf on Saturday.

The Frankel colt is trained by John and Thady Gosden for owner-breeder Shadwell, the racing operation of Sheikha Hissa.

His five-year-old campaign has been a great success with victories in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte International at York, performances that see him lining up at Santa Anita on a mark of 128 with nearly £2.5million in prize-money earnt so far.

Beech House Stud in Newmarket is newly refurbished and will become the home of all Shadwell’s UK-based stallions, meaning Mostahdaf will stand alongside Baaeed, Tasleet and Mohaather.

Angus Gold, Shadwell’s racing manager, said: “Mostahdaf has been a top-class horse for the last three seasons, from showing his speed when winning five of his six races as a three-year-old between seven furlongs and a mile; he then displayed his clear versatility and ability over further.

“Since winning the Neom Turf Cup in Saudi Arabia by seven lengths earlier this year, he has come from behind to beat the best 10-furlong horses in Europe at Royal Ascot, and then made all in the Juddmonte International. At York he highlighted both his speed and class by running six of the last eight furlongs under 12 seconds.

“Mostahdaf never missed a day’s training and was a thorough professional throughout his career; his enthusiasm for his work, together with his outstanding physique and speed, should make him a very attractive prospect for breeders.”

John Gosden added: “Mostahdaf has always been a pleasure to train. Sound and always positive and generous in his work. His action is superb and fluent with a high cruising speed and electric acceleration. A horse who has been very consistent throughout his career.”

In other stallion news, Juddmonte have announced the Ralph Beckett-trained Irish Derby winner Westover has been sold and will stand at Yushun Stallion Station in Hokkaido, Japan for the 2024 season.

He will be syndicated, and a fee is yet to be determined.

Jim Crowley is feeling “very confident” about Mostahdaf’s chances in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained five-year-old is poised for what is likely to be his final outing at Santa Anita before he embarks on a career at stud.

His services will surely be well sought after given his most recent performances have been career bests, in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Juddmonte International, two of the most prestigious 10-furlong races anywhere in the world.

He was due to run in the Champion Stakes at Ascot two weeks ago, but after John Gosden initially gave him the go-ahead having walked the track, a downpour mid-afternoon meant he did not race and was rerouted to America.

Crowley was not on board for his most recent outing at York as he was serving a whip suspension, with Frankie Dettori stepping in. And there is little doubt he is very excited about being reunited.

“The first time I’ve sat on him here was this morning and I’m very happy with the way he felt. He moved great in an easy canter for a circuit. He will probably go a little bit quicker tomorrow,” said Crowley.

“He was very well behaved and behaves himself better when he’s abroad than at home.

“He has plenty of pace, and you can park him up anywhere. I’m very confident.”

John Gosden was pleased to be able to get Inspiral and Mostahdaf out on to the Santa Anita track on Tuesday.

Two of the best turf horses in Europe will represent Gosden and his son Thady in the Filly & Mare Turf and the 12-furlong Turf respectively.

Inspiral has won her last two outings in Group One company, while Mostahdaf has been rerouted after the ground turned testing at Ascot on Champions Day.

His victories in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Juddmonte International were unquestionably two of the best displays of the season by any horse.

“The horses have been in a dark room with no natural light since they arrived and both Inspiral and Mostahdaf were very pleased to be out,” said Gosden.

“Mostahdaf fancied his pony and thought it was good fun, he will love being a stallion next year.

“He has a good turn of foot and is a good-looking son of Frankel.”

Mostahdaf will be reunited with Jim Crowley due to his retainer with owners Shadwell but Frankie Dettori stepped in for him at York while he was banned. Dettori will be on Inspiral, however.

The Italian recently announced his career will be extending much longer than first anticipated but Gosden is fully behind the switch in plans and raised the idea of the pair teaming up at the Dubai Carnival.

“Frankie learned a lot from the US jockeys in the 1980s when he was here for two or three winters. He was very keen and hungry to learn,” said Gosden.

“I think he’s doing it exactly right. He can ride here four days a week but he will ride for me again, for sure. In fact, I’m getting Lord North ready for Dubai, where he has won three Dubai Turfs. Why not a fourth?”

Mostahdaf looks set to round off his career in the Breeders’ Cup Turf next month, after connections opted to sidestep Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes due to unsuitable ground.

Having proved his top-level capabilities by winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte International at York, John and Thady Gosden’s five-year-old was well fancied to complete his Group One hat-trick on Champions Day – but his team had warned his participation was ground dependent.

And while Gosden and owners Shadwell initially gave the go-ahead after walking the track before racing, the attritional nature of the curtain-raising Long Distance Cup prompted a rethink.

“John and I walked the track, as everyone knows, and I thought it walked surprisingly well considering the rain they’ve had. I thought it walked good to soft and a bit softer down in Swinley Bottom,” said Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold.

“At that stage we were both thinking it was going to be OK to run on, albeit it wasn’t going to be in his favour, and then after the first race the first two jockeys I spoke to were the reigning champion jockey (William Buick), who described it as horrible and heavy, and Rab Havlin, who was third, said it was heavy.

“John and I had another look at it and spoke to Sheikha Hissa and said, ‘look, it’s your decision, but the ground isn’t going to be in his favour’, and John just felt it wasn’t fair on the horse ending his career in ground we know he doesn’t like – he couldn’t hobble on it in the Arc last year.

“With the option of the Breeders’ Cup still to come, there didn’t seem any point in bowing out on a low note when we can go to California with a chance of running him on fast ground in a couple of weeks’ time if he’s still well.”

Mostahdaf will be returning to a mile and a half for the first time since finishing fourth to Japanese ace Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March if he does contest the Breeders’ Cup Turf – but Gold does not see the extra distance being a major issue.

He added: “His best form here recently has been over a mile and a quarter, but over an American mile and a half, going down that hill for the first four furlongs or whatever it is, I think he’ll stay it. Whether he’ll win over it I can’t tell you, but I don’t think it will be that (stamina) that beats him.

“He’s a five-year-old now who has done brilliantly this year and I think if he does go to America that will be his last run.”

Mostahdaf, Paddington and Kinross are among the big names declared for what promises to be an enthralling afternoon for Qipco Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained Mostahdaf leads nine contenders for the Qipco Champion Stakes, in which the five-year-old will be bidding for a third consecutive Group One win having landed the Prince of Wales’s Stakes over the 10-furlong course and distance back in June before adding the Juddmonte International at York to his tally.

However, connections have expressed concerns about the likelihood of testing ground in Berkshire and he could yet bypass the race.

The Champion Stakes field also features last year’s winner winner Bay Bridge and third-placed My Prospero while French raider Horizon Dore is the favourite after winning each of his last four starts.

Frankie Dettori teams up with King Of Steel on what is set to be his final afternoon of European action before embarking on international engagements and an eventual move to America.

He now rides 2000 Guineas victor Chaldean for Andrew Balding in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes after Inspiral was taken out, in what promises to be another intriguing one-mile clash.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Paddington beat him nearly four lengths in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and he seeks a fifth Group One win after his unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of Mostahdaf at York.

Tahiyra adds further spice, with Dermot Weld’s filly having won the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation and Matron Stakes on her last three starts.

Nashwa runs over a mile instead of tackling the Champion Stakes, with Big Rock and Facteur Cheval both leading contenders for the French.

The Dettori-ridden Kinross faces 14 in defence of his British Champions Sprint title, although Commonwealth and July Cup hero Shaquille is a notable absentee in the six-furlong contest.

The Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes has 14 contenders, with Free Wind another likely favourite for Dettori, who also rides Trawlerman in the opening Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup.

The two-mile affair is the only Group Two on the card but it has drawn a quality line-up with Trueshan bidding for a fourth win in the race for Alan King, although he will have to contend with last year’s Gold Cup winner Kyprios and Lonsdale Cup scorer Coltrane in a field of eight.

Mostahdaf’s connections will keep a close eye on conditions at Ascot before making a final call on his participation in Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes.

Winner of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte International at York this season, John and Thady Gosden’s five-year-old is in line to return to Berkshire on Champions Day.

However, a forecast for heavy rain later in the week and the prosect of running on soft or even heavy ground is an obvious concern for a horse who has a proven preference for a fast surface.

Angus Gold, racing manager for owner-breeders Shadwell, said: “The forecast isn’t good obviously, but there’s no point making a fuss about it and we’ve got to take what we’re given.

“We’ll just keep an eye on it and I’ll speak to Sheikha Hissa and speak to John and see if we can come up with a decision between us.

“As we all know at this meeting, at this time of year, you can get very bad ground and when he raced on it in last year’s Arc he couldn’t handle that at all.

“There’s no point getting beat just for the sake of it, but at the same time we’re very keen to run and try to round off his season with another big win at Ascot.”

Connections do have a fallback option in the form of the Breeders’ Cup Turf on November 4, but they are not looking beyond Saturday at this stage.

“That was always the thing – the number one aim was Ascot and if because of the weather or whatever it didn’t come off, then we had the option of the Breeders’ Cup,” Gold added.

“We haven’t discussed it properly as we’ve always been hoping to go to Ascot.”

Horizon Dore, Mostahdaf, King Of Steel and last year’s winner Bay Bridge are among 11 horses confirmed for the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

Cirrus Des Aigles (2011), Almanzor (2016) and Sealiway (2021) are among the recent French-trained winners of the Champions Day highlight – and having extended his winning streak to four in the Prix Dollar, Patrice Cottier’s Horizon Dore bids to add his name to the roll of honour.

The home team is led by John and Thady Gosden’s Mostahdaf, the Roger Varian-trained King Of Steel and Sir Michael Stoute’s defending champion Bay Bridge.

Mostahdaf demonstrated his top-level capabilities by winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte International at York during the summer, but connections will be concerned about the prospect of significant rain later in the week for a horse who prefers fast ground.

King Of Steel, last seen finishing a close-up fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes, is set to be partnered by Frankie Dettori for what could be his final ride in Britain before retirement, while Bay Bridge will step back in distance after finishing sixth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The Gosden team have also confirmed Nashwa, while William Haggas has left in both last year’s third My Prospero and the globetrotting Dubai Honour.

Via Sistina (George Boughey), Royal Rhyme (Karl Burke) and Aidan O’Brien’s pair of Point Lonsdale and Paddington are the other acceptors, although the latter is widely expected to line up in the preceding Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over a mile.

Paddington has been one of the stars of the season for Ballydoyle, winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the St James’s Palace Stakes, the Coral-Eclipse and the Sussex Stakes before meeting with defeat for the first time this year when third behind Mostahdaf on the Knavesmire in August.

Among 13 possible rivals this weekend are Dermot Weld’s Irish Guineas, Coronation Stakes and Matron Stakes heroine Tahiyra, Nashwa, her stablemate Inspiral, 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean and the supplemented Angel Bleu.

The afternoon gets under way with the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, which is set to stage a mouthwatering clash between Trueshan and Kyprios.

Alan King’s Trueshan has bounced back from an underwhelming start to his campaign by winning the Doncaster Cup and the Prix du Cadran in the autumn and he now gets the opportunity to land this Group Two prize for the fourth year in succession.

Kyprios won the Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup and the Irish St Leger in 2022 before registering a remarkable 20-length verdict in the Cadran. He was beaten on his return from nearly a year on the sidelines in the Irish Leger last month, but can be expected to take a significant step forward.

Coltrane is also among 10 hopefuls, but Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami is a notable absentee.

Kinross (Ralph Beckett) and Shaquille (Julie Camacho) are two of 18 speedsters to stand their ground for the Qipco British Champions Sprin.

There are also 18 horses in contention for the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes including Free Wind (Gosdens), Time Lock (Harry and Roger Charlton), Sea Silk Road (Haggas) and the doubly engaged Via Sistina. Henry de Bromhead has supplemented Group Three winner Term Of Endearment.

The Balmoral Handicap is the concluding race and Lincoln winner Migration, trained by David Menuisier, is at the head of the weights after 32 horses were confirmed.

Jim Crowley is banking on reports of an imminent heatwave proving accurate to enable Mostahdaf to take his chance in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on October 21.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained five-year-old has taken his form to a completely different level this season, winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and ending Paddington’s winning sequence in the Juddmonte International at York.

The next logical step for a horse excelling over 10 furlongs would be the Champion Stakes, but his connections have been cautious to make too firm a plan given his liking for good ground.

They do have the Breeders’ Cup Turf in reserve, but that would mean stepping back up to a mile and a half so Crowley would love the weather forecasters’ predictions of a dry week leading into Champions Day to prove correct.

“If the ground is nice I’m sure he will take his chance,” he told Sky Sports Racing.

“The weather can change in between now and then but he’d go on good to soft, he has done in the past.

“I think if it came up very testing then he might reroute to a Breeders’ Cup or something, so that’s in the pipeline, but we’d love to get him there (Ascot) on good ground because it’s a great race and it would suit him, obviously, as a course and distance winner. It’s a very important race.

“We’ll take one step at a time and see if he goes to Ascot first, but that would be exciting if he went to America. It would be over a mile and a half, but he’s won over that distance and it’s over a tight two turns.

“He won out in Saudi and that is a similar sort of tight track to Santa Anita and he loves fast ground, so he’s got options and it’s great he’s been able to show us this season how good he really is.”

Mostahdaf provided Frankie Dettori with a fifth domestic Group One of the season and in the process helped him become the most successful jockey in the history of the Juddmonte International at York.

In drawing away from Lester Piggott with a sixth win in York’s best race, Dettori created yet another record in a career that is set to end later this year.

But when you see him at his best, as he was once again from the front on John and Thady Gosden’s five-year-old, you have to wonder why he is retiring at all.

Yes, he has achieved almost everything in the game, but on the big occasion and when it matters the most, there really have been very few better.

Up against the potential Horse of the Year in Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington, who had beaten Dettori and Emily Upjohn in the Eclipse, he was determined his younger rival was not going to have things all his own way.

In a complete change of tactics from Ascot, when Mostahdaf had been so impressive in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Dettori bounded out of the stalls into an early advantage and it was one he would not relinquish with the Italian hailing him as the best 10-furlong horse around.

With his Ascot partner Jim Crowley suspended for his winning ride in the King George, Dettori for once was in the role as super-sub.

He still held a two-length lead two furlongs out but it was then a matter of what was left in the tank, however, by then Paddington was also beginning to paddle and it was the winner’s stablemate Nashwa closing in.

There might not have been much in the locker at the finish, but as he so often has in his storied career, Dettori had ridden the perfect race.

“He’s run over a mile and a half, so he stays a mile and a quarter really well. The key was to get the fractions right, not too slow and not too fast and thankfully after 36 years I got it right,” said Dettori.

“I knew I had got it right because when I looked round I still had two lengths rope, I expected them to be on my quarters and when they weren’t I knew it would take a good horse to catch me now.

“This is my last Ebor meeting, my wife has come along and to be the first jockey to get six Juddmonte Internationals, beating Lester, I couldn’t ask for more.

“This was a real team effort. I have to thank Angus Gold and Richard Hills (Shadwell’s racing managers), Sheikha Hissa for giving me the ride and John and Thady – and especially Jim, it’s his ride. We all came up with a plan to beat this great horse Paddington. We wanted to bully the race from the beginning. It takes a good horse to do that and he was.”

Connections of Mostahdaf had admitted in the build up to the race that his achievements had somewhat gone under the radar, his Ascot performance looked too good to be true and yet he backed it up again.

“What he did at Ascot, people thought it was put on a plate for him but today he did it on his own,” said Dettori, who, when asked about his impending retirement replied: “I’ve got seven weeks and three days left – not that I’m counting!

“We were having to give 7lb to the favourite, but for a reason – we are an older horse and stronger, but that is valuable weight and quite an advantage. Because of that I didn’t want to have to chase him, when you are giving a horse weight you want them chasing you, not be chasing them.

“There’s a limit you can go, you don’t want to go too fast but at the same time you can’t go too slow.

“He’s a super horse, he showed that at Ascot. Because we know he stays a bit further, we wanted it to be a test and I could be aggressive.”

Dettori has ridden greats like Halling, Swain, Sakhee and Authorized to success in this great race and he feels Mostahdaf sits comfortably in their company.

“Undoubtedly he is the best mile-and-a-quarter horse around after this performance. I suspect John will find some good races for him at the end of the season but unfortunately for me, I’m not likely to be on him, but I’ll just take it as it comes,” he said.

“Equinox beat this horse a good few lengths over a mile and a half, which isn’t his best distance while it might be for Equinox. This lad is right at home over a mile and a quarter.

“To be the first jockey to win this six times means a lot.”

Frankie Dettori produced a brilliant front-running ride aboard Mostahdaf as he lowered the colours of Paddington in a thrilling edition of the Juddmonte International Stakes at York.

Deputising for the suspended Jim Crowley aboard John and Thady Gosden’s Royal Ascot scorer, Dettori wasted little time in bouncing the 3-1 second favourite out of the stalls and quickly into stride, he set perfect fractions as the Shadwell-owned five-year-old made every yard of the running.

Although Ryan Moore received the desired response when asking Paddington to close the gap in the home straight, he ultimately had no answer to Mostahdaf who kept finding extra under an ultra-confident Dettori as he registered a length success and followed up the owner’s victory in the Group One contest with the imperious Baaeed 12 months ago.

Stablemate Nashwa edged her way past Paddington for the silver medal late on as the Clarehaven team enjoyed a fabulous one-two, but the day belonged to Dettori who by winning the race for the first time since 2007, moved past Lester Piggott to become the contest’s leading rider.

Mostahdaf produced a career-best to land a red-hot renewal of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

John and Thady Gosden’s charge was a big-race winner in Saudi Arabia during the winter before running with real credit behind Japanese superstar Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic. But he was somewhat the forgotten horse here as the race was billed as a showdown between former Derby hero Adayar, Sir Michael Stoute’s Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge and his Curragh conqueror Luxembourg.

However, it was the Shadwell-owned five-year-old who landed the spoils in tremendous fashion, to strike for the first time at the highest level.

Jim Crowley was content to bide his time in the early stages as Luxembourg and American raider Classic Causeway eyeballed each other on the front end, but the jockey found himself in the perfect spot to strike as the runners entered the home straight.

And as push came to shove for the main protagonists, the 10-1 winner cruised to the lead before extending his advantage in the closing stages, registering a deeply impressive four-length success.

The victory gave John Gosden his third victory in the past 10 years in the 10-furlong contest and his fifth overall, but his first in conjunction with son Thady.