THERE is no horse in racing that represents the nature of the sport worldwide in the current era better than Highland Reel. All the world’s a stage and, these days, a horse can compete on any one of them.

Leopardstown, Goodwood, Longchamp, Chantilly, Curragh, Moonee Valley, Sha Tin, Meydan, Arlington, Ascot, York, Santa Anita, Epsom. All the places you’d want to visit on a worldwide racing trip. Highland Reel’s been there, done the job, got the T-shirt, and a few winners’ trophies as well.

It seems a long time since those first Breeders’ Cups and the Europeans were trying to work out how best to travel, and when to arrive, or even longer to Vintage Crop’s pioneering trip to Melbourne.

We are on the eve of Royal Ascot, as international a meeting as we have in the northern hemisphere, and the Australians were the first to embrace it with their top sprinters from Choisir, and Takeover Target to Black Caviar, competing for the prestige not for the money. Wesley Ward has followed suit in recent years.

It’s one of flat racing’s attractions. World rankings are not based on opinion but on actual form, through horses from all parts of the world meeting in competition.

Japanese challenger Epicharis was intended for today Belmont in New York, and Kitasan Black may be a runner at Leopardstown for the Irish Champion Stakes.

Winx is the dominant runner in Australia, number two in the world and heading for her third Cox Plate. The Aussie are trying to bring some competition and entice a European runner. Any takers? Highland Reel?

He finished five and a half lengths behind the Aussie champion when he ran in the Cox Plate as a three-year-old in 2015. How close would he get now? He’s a much better horse two years on.

The likelihood of it happening is perhaps slim, but who would be a better candidate, given his adaptability though a race and his ability to travel and hold his form. It would create such interest to have a top northern hemisphere runner.

It would take a bit of courage to send him but there are no scarcity of top middle-distance horses in Ballydoyle. The Cox Plate is in late October, there would not be time to send him back to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup, but he’s done that already.

Of course if Highland Reel did manage to beat the great mare, the aftermath might be interesting. The lads would need to have the car running for the airport and get out of dodge faster than you could say “pacemaker”.