Global formlines converge to give Auguste Rodin a true test of his claim to stardom

The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes (3.40) was conceived as a midsummer clash of the generations but while that is not quite the case this season with only one three-year-old in the line-up, there are still some intriguing match-ups between a stellar cast of older horses.

Since its first running in 1951, the race has been won by some of the biggest stars to have graced British racecourses, including Ribot, Mill Reef, Nijinsky, Shergar, Nashwan, Dancing Brave and Galileo – all who would enter the equation in any debate about the all-time greatest.

The Classic generation accounted for half of the winners in the 1980s and 1990s but since then they have won the Group 1 just six times, most recently when the Charlie Appleby-trained Adayar became the first horse since the great Galileo in 2001 to land the Derby-King George double.