Field Of Gold will stake his claim to being the best horse in the world when he tackles the Group One Sussex Stakes (1,600m) at Goodwood on Wednesday.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained star is already the highest rated three-year-old in the world but could become the outright best horse on the planet when he takes on the likes of Henri Matisse, Rosallion and Docklands.

The striking grey has won three of his four starts this campaign and is unlucky to not be unbeaten, suffering a narrow defeat in the Group One 2,000 Guineas (1,600m) at Newmarket after a successful reappearance.

After that near miss, jockey Colin Keane – now the retained rider for owners Juddmonte – took over in the saddle from Kieren Shoemark and has been successful on two occasions.

Winning the Group One Irish 2,000 Guineas (1,600m) at the Curragh, he then sprinted away from Henri Matisse in devastating fashion to win the Group One St James’s Palace Stakes (1,600m) at Royal Ascot last month.

There will be another jockey change for Field Of Gold, however, with Keane watching on from the sidelines as he serves a ban for a whip offence. William Buick, former stable rider for John Gosden, has been drafted in as super sub.

“The track is very different from Ascot or The Curragh but the horse is athletic, he’s got great balance, and hopefully he’ll handle the track well. He’s in great order and we’re looking forward to running him,” said John Gosden.

This will be the first time Field Of Gold will take on older opposition, with Rosallion and Docklands leading the charge for the older generation.

The pair clashed in the Group One Queen Anne Stakes (1,600m) at Royal Ascot last month, with the Harry Eustace-trained Docklands causing a boilover after getting up by a nose to defeat Rosallion.

Rosallion, who won last year’s Group One Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes, is the apple of trainer Richard Hannon’s eye, and he thinks his stable star is peaking at the perfect time.

“I’m very happy with him. He did a very good piece of work last week. I haven’t seen him work like that for a long time,” said Hannon.

“It’s going to be an extremely good race and he’s taking on extremely good three-year-olds, giving them weight, which makes it hard, but I think he is peaking now.”

Henri Matisse won the Group One Poule d’Essai des Poulains (1600m) at Longchamp in May but was no match for Field Of Gold at Royal Ascot, left trailing by three and a half lengths.

His trainer Aidan O’Brien is left undeterred, however, and thinks there could be more to come from his Classic winner.

“You’re never happy when you get beaten, but Henri Matisse ran a good race and we’ve been happy with him since. He’s progressing,” said O’Brien.

There are two Group Three races on the card that will complement the feature, the first being the HKJC World Pool Oak Tree Stakes (1,400m).

The second is the HKJC World Pool Molecomb Stakes (1,000m), where the Ger Lyons-trained Lady Iman bids to get back on track.

She won her first three starts impressively and had excuses when beaten in a 1,200m Group Two on her most recent outing, with her trainer now dropping her back in distance.