THERE was much debate about Champions Day at Ascot, where wet October weather and heavy ground meant several non-runners.

As he had shown in the spring, those conditions held no terrors for Lady Cecil’s Noble Mission, who emulated his mighty brother Frankel by taking the Group 1 Champion Stakes, though only after a desperate, protracted battle with the rejuvenated Al Kazeem.

James Doyle on the winner received a hefty fine and ban as the stewards started looking more closely at use of the whip in top races.

There were clear signs that Godolphin, still falling short in the most important races, meant business in 2015. After pursuing a ‘best available’ policy with regard to jockeys, they suddenly swooped for Doyle and William Buick and signed them up on lucrative contracts. This meant that Doyle was moving on only a year after joining Khalid Abdullah, while Gosden would have to compensate for the loss of Buick. There seemed to be no ill feeling anywhere.

A little depressingly, though some good lads are coming through (Oisin Murphy and Cam Hardie especially) no female jockeys made a significant breakthrough and things have gone backwards in that respect since Hayley Turner and Cathy Gannon made headlines two or three years ago.

MAKING A NAME

Sammy Jo Bell, attached to Richard Fahey’s stable, has a chance of making a name for herself while Jenny Powell also made a huge impact.

Much was made of Channel 4’s disappointing viewing figures, though few good judges could see anything wrong with the presentation and it was more a question of general public apathy.

On the other hand, huge crowds were attending the big weekend meetings, a welcome trend though one which underlines the mediocrity of much Monday to Thursday fare.

All-weather racing continues on the up, with Chelmsford the reincarnation of Great Leighs. The whole complicated maelstrom will be overseen by a new BHA chief executive as Nick Rust, formerly of Ladbrokes, takes over from Paul Bittar. Six new board members have already been recruited.