THE racing world went into a predictable melt down when it was, rather unsurprisingly, revealed Baaeed would swerve the Arc de Triomphe in favour of the Qipco Champion Stakes.

It seems some would have you think a trip to Paris in October was the only way the unbeaten four-year-old – trained by William Haggas – would be able to show whether he was any good or not.

The Longchamp contest is a great race, no doubt, but is it really some kind of fabled throne where champions are crowned every year as some would have you believe?

Of course, some of the greatest horses to race in Europe have won the mile-and-a-half thriller. Ribot, Sea Bird, Mill Reef Dancing Brave, Sea The Stars, Treve and Enable all confirmed their place at the ‘greatest’ table at Paris.

More recently, Waldgeist, Sottsass and last year’s surprise winner Torquator Tasso showed it’s not compulsory to be a great champion to win the Arc.

This year’s race is hardly shaping up to be a Classic, either, so stopping at home to head to Ascot on Qipco British Champions Day is hardly the soft option.

It is, though, the sensible target. After all, despite having the pedigree for the mile-and-a-half distance, Baaeed is yet to run over it.

Chuck in the heavy or very soft ground the last three Arcs have been run on and it would be the move of someone trying to get a horse beaten for the sake of it.

After all, it’s the trainer’s job to get the most out of each horse. Those people wailing about Baaeed not heading to Paris would be the same people mocking a lesser horse being campaigned over wrong distances on testing ground at the end of a hard season.

It’s not as if the Qipco Champion Stakes is some kind of gimme. With French Derby winner Vadeni likely to turn up at Ascot, the strength of the end-of-season Group 1 could be quite similar to the Longchamp thriller.

Considering Jean-Claude Rouget’s Eclipse hero was on the heels of Arc hopes Luxembourg and Onesto in the Irish Champion Stakes last weekend without getting the clearest of runs, he could pose Baaeed’s biggest threat on his career finale.

The Champion Stakes also has a habit of being won by great horses. Perhaps, the greatest of them all, Frankel, ended his career in the ten-furlong highlight of Qipco British Champions Day.

Throw in the likes of Sir Ivor, Brigadier Gerard, Pebbles and Bosra Sham and it’s clear it has a pedigree to justify its race title.

There’s no doubt Baaeed is a champion. One of the greats. His place among the best horses to grace this great sport is already assured and no declined invitation for a weekend in Paris is going to put a line through that.

The move to send him to Ascot is also a great boost, not only to Qipco British Champions Day, but for British racing itself.

The glittering end-of-season celebration was created in the hope of attracting the very best horses.

In Baaeed they have got just that and he should have racing fans flocking to the Royal track to see just how good he is.