Breeders' Cup warmed the heart but the racing closer to home left me cold

With a warm sense of satisfaction, I headed off to bed after watching Yibir scorch down the centre of the Del Mar track to lift the Breeders' Cup Turf.

Breeders' Cup Saturday (so much more than the Friday) is one of the best days of the racing year as far as I am concerned, and comes fast on the heels of another international delight, the Melbourne Cup. The early starts and late finishes required to take in the action are more than worth it, with Flemington witnessing a superlative winner in Verry Elleegant and the Breeders' Cup delivering its usual host of stories, fantastic finishes and heaps of delightful Americana.

It was such an enjoyable Saturday that picking out a highlight is difficult, although the historic success of Japan's Loves Only You in the Filly & Mare Turf for the purple-hatted maestro Yoshito Yahagi probably tops the lot. You can only applaud the training and riding efforts of the Ortiz brothers (five wins), Charlie Appleby (three wins) and, in particular, William Buick (three wins), who was quite brilliant on Space Blues in the Mile and has been riding out of his skin this year; surely a first jockeys' championship will come his way next year with a fair wind.