HISTORY and Yorkshiremen would say that the fittest horse wins the 2000 Guineas, the luckiest horse wins the Derby but the best wins the St Leger.

The formbook would say that the best horses running today can be found in Ireland, although the weather forecast may yet scupper that claim.

After 238 renewals and the undisputed status as the world’s oldest Classic, Doncaster can rightly claim that the Ladbrokes St Leger has stood the test of time. However, it is the nouveau riches of the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes, run at Leopardstown and established in 1976, which is the latest venue for the much-anticipated showdown of the year between Golden Horn and Gleneagles that has so far only fired blanks.

When Golden Horn won the Derby at Epsom three months ago it was obvious that he was not the type to run in the St Leger, where the extended one, six furlongs and 132 yards would have been several bridges too far in terms of stamina.

However, it was viewed as the ideal route for Storm the Stars, trained by William Haggas, who finished third in the Derby, second in the Irish Derby and third in the Grand Prix de Paris. He then won the Group Two Great Voltigeur Stakes at York last month beating Bondi Beach, one of two runners in the St Leger trained by Aidan O’Brien.

Storm the Stars has the best form, the caveat is his stamina. But he was running on at the end of 12 furlongs in the Voltigeur and his sire, Sea the Stars, does seem to produce horses who can see out this distance. That is the view of Haggas’s father-in-law, otherwise known as Lester Piggott who said: “He's had plenty of races this year, but he likes to race, he's got better with each one. He should stay and I think the extra trip should suit him, really. I think he'll be hard to beat.”

The stars, weather permitting, who will contest the Irish Champion Stakes have both won Classics this season but, given that all of the eight runners have won Group One races, this is a case of determining the first among equals.

The determining factor of which horses will even run is the amount of rain that was due to fall on Dublin overnight. Golden Horn, who followed his Derby victory by winning the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, was withdrawn from the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July by his trainer, John Gosden, because the ground was too soft while the days when Gleneagles won the 2000 Guineas, Irish 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes before the turn of the year are receding into the memory.

Since then O’Brien has pulled his star miler out of so many High Noon-billed races that he could be called the Seldom Seen Kid. The problem has been soft ground and that could yet be a curveball that would not be out of place at Wrigley Field.

The decision of the Leopardstown officials to run the Irish Champion Stakes an hour earlier than originally scheduled, in an attempt to ensure the race is run on the best possible ground, is good news for Gosden who saw Golden Horn lose his unbeaten record in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York to a mixture of rain-softened ground and giving the winner, Arabian Queen, too much rope.

"We go to Ireland and I'd very much like to run” Gosden said. “If it's good or good to soft ground we'll run. If it goes very, very soft, I'll walk that track about three times until my wellies fill up and then make a decision. "

A line through The Grey Gatsby, whom Golden Horn has beaten twice this season, gives him the edge over Free Eagle and the way that O’Brien has always viewed Gleneagles as a speed horse offers some doubt over whether he can make the step up to 10 furlongs, with each drop of rain dowsing those hopes.

The hope is that they all arrive at the start fit and get enough luck in running to allow the best horse to win, which should be Golden Horn.