Trust me, the Breeders' Cup is brutal but brilliant - all you need is a half-baked system and a whole lot of luck

I have a mixed relationship with the Breeders' Cup. There have been some moments of punting inspiration (and if you think I'm going to spare you those for fear of being labelled an aftertimer, think again - I've been labelled far worse than that) but the meeting was also the scene of the lowest low I've known on a racecourse.

Sadly, I'll never forget the evening at Monmouth Park in 2007 when poor George Washington stood bewildered in the gloom and slop of a New Jersey evening after breaking a leg in the Classic.

It was the kind of hideous stuff that makes you feel bad when you complain about just losing a bit of money. I still do that, of course, but probably not quite as much as I did when Ouija Board got beat in her bid for a second Filly & Mare Turf in 2005. For a long time, I was happy to channel my inner Maureen Haggas and grumble about Jerry Bailey to anybody who'd listen, although 20 years on I've almost forgiven him.