Stuart Williams’ winning machine Quinault is taking aim at the Howden Challenge Cup in a bid for a remarkable eighth success of the season.

The three-year-old has been a hero for connections this year, being beaten only once in his last eight starts in a superb campaign that has seen him climb through the ranks from a class six event to heritage handicaps.

His rating has risen with him as he started the year on a mark of 59 and now runs off a rating of 102, with 5lb-claimer Luke Catton set to ride again as Quinault tackles the same course and distance he encountered when taking the bet365 handicap last time out.

On that occasion he defeated a good horse in Ed Walker’s Popmaster, a subsequent Listed winner in the Dubai Duty Free Cup at Newbury and therefore a favourable addition to the Quinault form line.

Williams said of the gelding: “He’s in great form, he’s got an entry at Ascot on Saturday and the plan is at the moment is that he’ll take up that entry.

“I was over the moon with him last time, he’s been a superstar for us this year.

“Whatever he does now from here on out this year is just a bonus, he’s been absolutely brilliant.”

Quinault could bid to extend his remarkable winning sequence to seven at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup on Saturday.

Having begun the season with a basement rating of just 59, the Stuart Williams-trained three-year-old has rattled off six successive victories, seeing his mark rise to a much loftier perch of 97.

Mill Stream, who was beaten a nose by Quinault in a valuable sprint handicap at Newmarket’s July meeting, gave the form a significant boost with a dominant Listed success in France on Sunday.

Williams though is looking at another handicap for his fast-improving speedster and views Saturday’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint as a suitable target.

“I’ve been very happy with him since the July meeting, he’s been training well,” he said.

“I’ve just entered him for the Shergar Cup on Saturday in the six-furlong race for three-year-olds only. Hopefully that will be his next port of call.”

With jockeys in the Shergar Cup team competition allocated by a series of ballots, Williams will have no say in who rides Quinault in Berkshire.

But with world-class riders like Frankie Dettori, Olivier Peslier, Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle among those set to be in action, the Newmarket-based trainer is not overly concerned.

He added: “They’ve got some top-class jockeys, so you’d be hopeful that whoever rides him will be able to ride him fine. He’s not a difficult ride on the racecourse.

“He’s obviously surprised us – you wouldn’t have said at the start of the season he’d have a rating pushing 100 at this stage of the year.

“He hasn’t run on anything softer than good ground, but it’s usually fairly good on the straight course at Ascot unless it rains on the day and it’s supposed to be dry towards the end of the week so I can’t see it being a problem.”