The turf | 26 October 2017

Racing’s finances depend on as many people as possible betting, so it seemed a touch ironic that Responsible Gambling Awareness Week coincided with Ascot’s glorious British Champions Day, a day that showcased almost everything good the sport has to offer.

The Irish genius Aidan O’Brien duly equalled the world record of 25 Group One wins in a season with Hydrangea capturing the Fillies and Mares Stakes. The long-striding Cracksman’s demolition of the Champion Stakes field provided the first Group One victory in Europe by a horse sired by Frankel. Racing’s cheerleader Frankie Dettori celebrated with his trademark flying dismount from both Cracksman and the grey filly Persuasive, on whom he swooped to victory in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Both were trained by John Gosden. Was he worried about keeping fillies like Persuasive going to October, he was asked. Not at all, he replied. Fillies go through hell in the spring, coming into season and suffering hormonal problems even worse than those of adolescent boys. ‘Come the autumn, everything has settled down and they can focus on their racing.’ With both Cracksman and the Arc-winning filly Enable staying in training next year, the ever-thoughtful and courteous Gosden is becoming a true figurehead in British racing, a sport that provides employment for 20,000 people. In any other business he would have been given a knighthood long ago.

Just as enjoyable was the victory of the 10–1 shot Librisa Breeze in the Champions Sprint, a significant success for the lesser-known but advancing trainer Dean Ivory and jockey Robert Winston, who had postponed retirement thoughts because he liked her so much. Which brings us back to gambling awareness. Librisa Breeze completed an extraordinary week for her owner Tony Bloom. The chairman of Brighton Football Club, the Premier League new boys who had the night before scored their biggest success yet, Bloom had the previous Saturday seen his horse Withhold, trained by Roger Charlton, land the smoothest coup of the year in the Cesarewitch.