THE Breeders’ Cup may not really be racing’s ‘world championships’ as, by November, some of the top horses have been put away for the season but since its inception there is no doubt that it has brought us very many outstanding races in the last 40 years.

If you are a fan of international racing, it’s a must-see event. Is it really that long since Dancing Brave’s defeat in 1986?

There were so many memorable contests. Lester’s comeback on Royal Academy, Arazi’s memorable venture onto the dirt in the Juvenile, Giant’s Causeway’s heroic defeat and then Tiznow doing it for America after 9/11. Zenyatta’s triumph and agonising defeat. Johannesburg also proving a top European two-year-old could win on dirt.

The 1989 Classic renewal in which Sunday Silence and Easy Goer faced off for the last time was one of US racing’s most famous rivalries.

The “unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable” call of Tom Durkin on Cigar’s win in the Classic in 1995. American Pharoah ending his brilliant Triple Crown winning season and Flightline’s tour de force in the Classic a few years back. European winners like Ridgewood Pearl, High Chaparral and Enable also brought extra satisfaction.

Flightline and Flavien Prat winning easily for trainer John Sadler \ Healy Racing.

This year should provide its share of good Irish interest from the sprints to the Mile and Turf.

Looking for some Irish and European winners, both Arizona Blaze and Bucanero Fuerte have the form to go close in the Turf Sprint.

Notable Speech has been trained for the Mile and is joined, after a longish season, by one-time Derby favourite The Lion In Winter who comes off a British Champions Day outing and good run in the QEII.

It is surprising to look and see that American runners have actually won five of the last 10 runnings. With that in mind, and long seasons for the European runners, the value could be last year’s second Johannes, who had Notable Speech back in third last year.

At around 10/1, and off a light season, he could take this from the Europeans.

Top the bill

In a rare turn of events, could the Turf be top of the bill? The leading contenders are a three-year-old classic-winning filly in Minnie Hauk and a multiple Grade 1-winning seven-year-old gelding in Rebel’s Romance. They both have their fans.

Minnie Hauk does look the best horse but an outsider to note is the Wathnan-owned Silawi. The son of Dubawi made all and hung on in a Woodbine Grade 1 and, if getting clear from stall five, could hang on for a place at big odds under James Doyle.

Brendan Walsh’s improving Clicquot could be one at a price in the Distaff (9.01pm). Bob Baffert will surely get on the scoreboard over the day and Nysos in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (11.45pm) looks his best chance.

The Classic (10.25pm) is a cracker though sadly without the biggest attraction in Sovereignty. Forever Young brings a proper international angle from his win in Dubai.

Last year’s winner Sierra Leone and his ‘rabbit’ Contrary Thinking might set it up to suit more than just his own running style if Fierceness is held back from stall one this time. I don’t feel Sierra Leone is as good as last year, for all that he shone in this race last season.

The two darker horses, if you can call Grade 1 winners dark horses, are the Repole second string Mindframe and the Penn Derby winner Baeza. I’m going for Mindframe for the each-way.

We have to stay up until after midnight at 12.25 to see the last chance of an Irish-trained winner when Bedtime Story runs in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

It would be fitting, however, if such a terrific season for Francis-Henri Graffard ended with a win for Gezora who should surely run much better than she did in the Arc. See The Fire from the wide stall and Cinderella’s Dream are beatable.

A racing entertainment channel

I HAVE often wondered why the bigger tracks and festivals in Britain did not employ one of their staff to mingle among racegoers and enclosures at the big days and show on social media what is on offer and how people are having a good time at the races.

It came more to mind this week when seeing the output on X from ‘Racing Blogger’ Stephen Power who is in Melbourne as a guest of Racing Victoria. His posts have received a lot of positive comments.

Positive reaction

Now, it’s an easy thing to promote, the race that stops a nation, in a city like Melbourne, on its biggest racing weeks of the year. But credit to him for the pretty positive output and reactions.

However, having watched ‘Bloggsy’ on social media for many years, I would suggest that many people follow him just to see him lose money when a short-priced favourite gets chinned on the line. It’s hardly good for the sport if you’ve encouraged people to back it.

Entertainment

And for all the content, X is more of an entertainment medium rather than one that gives any race analysis or news. But is that what people are looking for more and more these days? Fewer facts and analysis?

It was interesting comparing the positive comments for the Blogger with the mainly ambivalent reaction to the news that a number of professional sports writers were leaving the business.

Kieran Cunningham Chief Sports Writer with the Daily Mirror, is one of those who stepped away from his role this week. Cunningham noted: “In Ireland, GAA, soccer, rugby, horseracing and golf dominate the sports pages, but even the latter pair are feeling the squeeze. The coverage of sports like athletics and boxing - which have a long and proud history here and are full of stories - has been squeezed. But we should study closely what has happened to, say, the boxing media. Fan sites and YouTubers have been cultivated and are given ringside seats because they dutifully cheerlead and repeat whatever nonsense is fed to them. Experienced and competent reporters have been either refused accreditation or seated in the Gods as punishment for asking relevant questions.

It’s easy to hide any lack of depth and knowledge behind a 60-second reel of ‘hey, look at me’ action. In these times, anyone can do that once they are allowed on site. But is this where sports ‘journalism’ is heading?

EVEN before we get to the ‘championship’ races at Cheltenham and Aintree, the producers of the ITV series Champions: Full Gallop have been lucky again to find strong stories going through the season. The jockeys and trainers have been allowed show more personality.

Freddie Gingell’s early season Cheltenham success and the drama surrounding Constitution Hill’s comeback at Kempton ran through episodes one and two and with great background access to the people behind them and those riding the horses.

Thankfully, there are less media faces coming into camera to tell the story but still a few too many to fit a proper ‘show don’t tell’ programme. It might have been better to never cut away from the action and just use a voiceover explaining the backgrounds or developing storylines. But it is still a good watch.