Give thanks for O'Brien on a climactic day to be savoured

They didn't need giant covers or the jumps track in the end, just the driest autumn in years, but the result is what promises to be one of the most glittering afternoons of racing in years.

Hosting the most valuable day in the British racing calendar in mid-October when the ground can suit chasers better than sprinters is flirting with trouble, but no-one is complaining this year as a cast-list to rival any meeting in recent memory assembles to battle for more than £4 million in prize-money.

This is the kind of jamboree organisers have been dreaming about since Ascot first hosted Qipco British Champions Day five years ago, but as well as the weather they should be giving thanks to Aidan O'Brien.