The Eclipse used to be miles better than the Arc or Breeders' Cup - this year's star-studded field can help restore its reputation

There are quite a few things in the world I don't understand. For example, how anyone can want to go to Glastonbury is beyond me, while the thought of sitting on a packed beach in the boiling sun would be the equivalent of getting all my teeth pulled out by a very large orangutan with a huge wrench.

When it comes to racing I don't really get the modern obsession with the Breeders' Cup and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. I understand that their position in the calendar, at the end of the season, is perfect for completing the narrative to the whole Flat season, but the Breeders' Cup in particular is often an afterthought for British and Irish trainers and the meeting often throws up freak winners. As a consequence we have often tended to run down our own races like the Eclipse and the King George, which in the annals of history have provided some winners at least equal – if not better – to Arc and Breeders' Cup winners.

Back in the day world-class talents like Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Dancing Brave, Troy, Mtoto, Shergar, Nashwan and Galileo either won both the Eclipse and the King George or one of them, and no-one thought any less of them if they went on to get beaten in the Arc. Nowadays it's the other way round, but it should be remembered that two recent Arc winners, Waldgeist and Bluestocking, were beaten in the King George in the same season.