Autumn Flat focus: what are the big themes and questions as we head into the final segment of the season?

Who will emerge to fill the void left by City Of Troy and be the star of the autumn?

City Of Troy started the season branded Coolmore's own version of Frankel. It took him until last week's Juddmonte International to truly prove he had the talent to match the hype, but no sooner had we reached a general consensus that he was indeed the best horse in Europe than we were told it would be approaching midnight on November 2 before anyone other than Aidan O'Brien, the Coolmore team and the clerk of the course at Southwell, where he is due to gallop, gets to see him again.

The Breeders' Cup Classic is a wonderfully ambitious plan for a horse who earned a Racing Post Rating of 129 for his Knavesmire rout – and the decision has brought a real sense of excitement to the build-up of the most prestigious race on dirt – but it does leave something of a void to fill in the European scene this autumn.

Goliath ran away with the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at AscotCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Which other horses could emerge? The next two highest-rated on RPRs are mile-and-a-half specialists Calandagan and Goliath. Both are trained by Francis Graffard, have a peak RPR of 127 gained on their last start and both are sadly ineligible for France's richest mile-and-a-half race as geldings cannot run in the Arc. They will have to take opportunities elsewhere.