The brilliant Frankel could end his career at the Breeders' Cup in 2012

  PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)  

Year to remember for the foreign raiders

WORLD CLASS: an analysis of the international scene according to Racing Post Ratings

THE one blot on Frankel and Black Caviar's impeccable seasons is that they failed to run overseas, but in the wider racing world this year has been one of increased globalisation.

In the spring Sheikh Mohammed's Darley operation showed how deep their expansion into Australian racing has gone by landing all five Australian Group 1 juvenile events with their first crop of Woodlands Stud homebreds.

Darley's Australian trainer Peter Snowden will now prepare star duo Helmet and Sepoy for the Dubai Carnival, after which they will join Godolphin's European team in Newmarket.

Ballydoyle have also played the cross-continental game this year, sending out an amazing seven Grade 1 winners in America.

Before this season trainer Aidan O'Brien had racked up seven Grade 1 winners in the States, so seven in one year was a huge leap forward.

Outside the major operations there were plenty of other top-drawer horses showcasing their talents across continents.

Record-breaking Arc winner Danedream tried her luck in Japan. Snow Fairy also ran in Japan and had been anintended runner in Hong Kong along with Excelebration. Fate blocked their paths, but Cirrus Des Aigles is still on schedule for Sha Tin, while jet-setter So You Think has run in five countries across three continents in the space of just over 12 months.

It may be prize-money is becoming more attractive for overseas raiders in certain jurisdictions or that running in a foreign country is now less of a step into the unknown than it used to be. But whatever the reason, we seem to be creeping towards a point where even the very best are expected, and willing, to prove themselves on foreign soil.

It never seemed likely that Sea The Stars would go to the Breeders' Cup after the 2009 Arc, but just a couple of years on andFrankel's team are considering going Stateside for his final race. The problem in 2012 is that Champions Day and the Breeders' Cup will be just two weeks apart - and he's unlikely to run at both.

France has also been mentioned as a potential target for Frankel, while Black Caviar has been nominated for one of the most adventurous campaigns an Aussie sprinter has ever attempted in Europe (Golden Jubilee, July Cup and Prix de la Foret).

Frankel and Black Caviar have little to prove abroad, but abroad they may go. Could this be the shape of things to come?

It isn't just the very best for whom international racing is expanding, as the volume of overseas runners at the major international meetings is also on the increase.

This year saw the biggest ever European raiding party for the Melbourne Cup and the second biggest ever European team for the Breeders' Cup (the biggest being Santa Anita in 2009, when they knew they were on to a good thing with the Pro-Ride surface).

Royal Ascot also received a record entry from America in 2011, including the first runners for champion trainer Todd Pletcher.

The royal meeting has always been a target for Aussies, but it looks set to step up to the next phase in 2012, when star sprinters Sepoy, Hay List and Black Caviar could be set to line up for the sprint clash of the year - 10,000 miles from home.

Next year will also see the rare example of a Brit going the other way in the sprint division, with King's Stand Stakes winner Prohibit aiming to tackle Black Caviar in the Lightning Stakes in February.

Cross-continental top-level winners this year include Snow Fairy (Japan), Dunaden (Australia), Gitano Hernando (Singapore), Wigmore Hall (Canada), Sarah Lynx (Canada), Presvis (Dubai), Rocket Man (Dubai) and Victoire Pisa (Dubai), while Cape Blanco, Treasure Beach, Together, Wrote and St Nicholas Abbey all scored for Ballydoyle in America.

With increased investment overseas, the Ballydoyle-Godolphin rivalry seems to be stepping up a notch from Britain and Ireland to the whole world.

Given that O'Brien and his team are now sending horses out to Dubai again, the interesting thing early next year will be whether he sends So You Think over for Sheikh Mohammed's flagship race.

American dirt horses rarely tackle the Dubai World Cup now it is on Tapeta and So You Think would have a cracking chance in an average race.

Could it be another championship contest on yet another continent for the former-New Zealander, turned-Aussie, turned-Irish son of High Chaparral?

A World Cup win may not require an improved performance from So You Think, but it would be a hell of an accolade for the globetrotting-est of globetrotters.

On Sunday, Dubai World Cup runner-up Transcend posted the performance of the week at Hanshin, making most of the running to land the Japan Cup Dirt. It paid to be handy and he ran to his mark with an RPR of 119.

TOP OF THE CLASS: Transcend 119, Takayuki Yasuda (Japan) (Japan Cup Dirt, Hanshin, 1m1f, December 4)

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