Vive La France and Erin Go Bragh!

Saturday's International Festival of Racing more than lived up to its billing, as Ireland dominated the Secretariat S. (G1), a French-bred mare now based in the United States took the Beverly D. S. (G1), and the three international horses in the Arlington Million (G1) finished one-two-three.

Setting the tone for the afternoon, the Dermot Weld-trained WINCHESTER (Theatrical [Ire]) romped by 7 ¼ lengths in the Secretariat, and fellow Irish shipper Plan (Storm Cat) took home runner-up honors. It was a scintillating performance from Winchester, who was still in hand at the wire while reeling off 1 ¼ miles in 2:01 3/5, faster than the 2:02 clocked by Spirit One in the Million.

This was another ringing endorsement of the King Edward VII (Eng-G2) form, as outlined in my previous post on the Secretariat. It's good to know that all those hours spent poring over the detailed European results, day in and day out, can come up trumps!

The Beverly D. technically went to an American-based mare in MAURALAKANA (Fr) (Muhtathir [GB]), but she is a totally French production. Not only was she bred in France, but Mauralakana also began her career there under the direction of Jean-Claude Rouget, and she is now trained by Frenchman Christophe Clement.

Adding to the Gallic flavor, the surprising Toque de Queda (GB) (Dansili [GB]) ran the race of her life to finish third at 53-1. So much for my writing her off as one-paced!

On this occasion, unlike the Secretariat, my rigid, narrow-minded view of the form book gave me a case of near-sightedness, and I was too cautious about Mauralakana's prospects here. I took too literally both Rosinka's (Ire) (Soviet Star) defeat of Mauralakana in last year's Glens Falls H. (G3), and the solid, but less than stellar, competition that Mauralakana has skewered this year. Also, if you had told me before the race that Mauralakana would be sitting fourth early, just off the pace, I would have been a little worried. Her prior record this season strongly pointed to the fact that she prefers to come from farther back, regardless of the pace scenario.

But as the Beverly D. made clear, Mauralakana has improved substantially since the last time she tried Grade 1 company in 2007. Perhaps I'm taking her early positioning too far, but it could be that she's developing a new dimension.

The form book redeemed itself in the Arlington Million – not that it would have led me to forecast the exact finishing order, by any means, but the formlines that SPIRIT ONE (Fr) (Anabaa Blue) boasted collaterally with Archipenko (Kingmambo), and directly with Mount Nelson (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar [Ire]), turned out to be extremely informative. As such, they revealed Spirit One as an overlay at 13-1.

Of course, Spirit One enjoyed some good fortune too. First, Sudan (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) scratched, leaving the pacesetting role virtually in his lap. In these circumstances, his best chance was just to roll right from the start and make his rivals catch him.

If Spirit One did as expected and seized the initiative, Einstein (Brz) (Spend a Buck) was sure to take up a pace-pressing position. But Einstein stumbled badly at the start and was relegated to sixth, completely taking him out of his game. Given the fact that Spirit One set steady fractions, it's possible that Einstein may have applied more pressure than Archipenko and Mount Nelson did. Whether that would have made the slightest impact on the result, though, is another matter. Regardless, Einstein's terrible break eliminated another potentially complicating variable for Spirit One.

Besides the internationals, the other big winner on Saturday was the Breeders' Cup. All three winners may grace the stage at Santa Anita. Weld indicated that Winchester was likely to aim for the October 25 Breeders' Cup Turf (G1). Spirit One earned an automatic berth by virtue of capturing the Million, a Breeders' Cup Challenge race, and his connections sounded an encouraging note about his showing up in the Turf. Mauralakana, who might have been packed off to Australia to begin her broodmare career, will now stay in training and take her guaranteed spot in the October 24 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1).

With this dream day for France and Ireland in the books, next year's International Festival of Racing is sure to attract another outstanding squadron of Europeans.