Familiar foes Calandagan and Jan Brueghel are part of a small but select field of five runners declared for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Racing.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Jan Brueghel got the better of Francis-Henri Graffard’s French raider Calandagan by half a length in the Coronation Cup at Epsom in early June, since when the latter has secured the Group One victory he has long promised in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

A rematch is on the cards in Ascot’s midsummer highlight, with O’Brien chasing a fifth King George success and Graffard bidding for back-to-back wins following Goliath’s triumph 12 months ago.

Jan Brueghel is joined by stablemate Continuous, but as expected O’Brien has not declared dual Derby winner Lambourn or top-class filly Whirl.

The globetrotting Rebel’s Romance has won seven Group Ones on foreign soil and returns for a second tilt at King George glory, having finished third a year ago, off the back of his course and distance success in last month’s Hardwicke Stakes.

The line-up is completed by the only filly in the race, Andrew Balding’s Kalpana, who also has a course and distance triumph on her CV after striking gold on Champions Day last season and returns to a mile and a half after being placed in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and the Pretty Polly Stakes in Ireland.

Jessica Harrington has not declared Green Impact, who instead heads for the Sky Bet York Stakes on the same afternoon.