There is a new phenomenon in European racing. It is called the Ballydoyle Grade I machine. This machine is operated by Aidan O’Brien. The Tipperary-based team claimed its twelfth Grade I race this year on Saturday. The scene was Sandown Park and the race was the Coral Eclipse Stakes. The winning horse was Mount Nelson.

Sandown Park can be reached by taking a train from Waterloo station. You alight at Esher and Sandown racecourse is a ten-minute walk. From Esher, Wimbledon, the All England Tennis Club headquarters, is a short distance away. The Sandown Park program got under way on Saturday as the Williams sisters began their women’s singles final.

I intended to type this story early on Sunday but I could not unglue myself from the TV in the living room. It was the final of the men’s singles. It was the greatest match I have seen. Yes, in the fifth set, mistakes were made because both Nadal and Federer were tired. The dip in the level of play took nothing away from the exciting duel. I hope many of you in India watched the match. It was the match of a lifetime.

It was Martina Navratilova, making on appearance on TV, who expressed the opinion that 2008 will belong to Rafael Nadal. I was so tempted to make a wager on Roger Federer but I was saved because I happened to be watching a show on Wimbledon when Martina appeared.

Multidimensional set the pace in the Eclipse. Maraahel and Campanologist followed. After Multidimensional was headed, Maraahel and Campanoligist took turns on the lead. Then Phoenix Tower, Ted Durcan up, led close home as Mount Nelson and John Murtagh made their bid. It was a photo finish and the photo showed that Mount Nelson, from Aidan O’Brien’s yard, had won by a short head. A length away in third was Pipedreamer, Jimmy Fortune up.

Phoenix Tower was the 5-2 favourite. Mount Nelson was the 7-2 second choice. The time for 2000 metres was 2 minutes 5.56 seconds. Mount Nelson is by Rock Of Gibraltar.

Aidan O’Brien talked about his faith in Mount Nelson. “He is a very good horse. Showed early potential. Spring of last year, he tore off a shoe and half of his foot with it. This year, he showed us he was on his way up.”

Jockey John Murtagh, the Royal Ascot champion, said, “I rode Motivator and O’Brien’s Oratorio beat me in 2005. I was in the right camp today. Most stables rely on one horse but I could not believe the standard of horses at Ballydoyle when I went there.”

The Eclipse win was worth 283,560 pounds to the winner.

Sir Henry Cecil was philosophical. “He (Phoenix Tower) ran a blinder. He was beaten on the line.”

At Monmouth Park in New Jersey on Saturday two races of consequence were held. The winners of the Salvator Mile and the United Nations handicap secured berths in corresponding Breeders’ Cup races. Notional, at 7-1, was victorious in the Salvator Mile. The United Nation Handicap was won by Presious Passion. Ridden by Eddie Castro, Presious Passion, a 13-1 chance, made it all.

Winning trainer Mary Hartmann spoke. “I am very shaky, very trembly. Everybody is here, my friends, my family. Winning a race like this, it’s absolutely unbelievable.”

Eddie Castro, the winning jockey put it all in simple words. “I got the lead pretty easily. At the 3/8 pole (600 metres left) I just let him go and he kept going.”

Indian Blessing returned to winning ways with a smart win in the Grade I Prioress at Belmont Park on Saturday. The track was muddy. Indian Blessing lay off the pace and charged into a winning lead down the lane.

Hollywood Park had several graded races. The Cash Call Mile went to Diamond Diva who won in a thriller. David Flores was the jockey.

Jockey Flores came from behind to win the Triple Bend handicap with Street Boss. It was the fourth successive win for Street Boss on the polytrack.

The American Oaks went to Pure Clan, the 5-2 choice. Julien Leparoux gave Pure Clan a clever steer. Curtain Call, from Ireland, ran on late without hope. Annie Skates, from England, was also in the race.

Zenyatta made it six wins in as many starts with a hard-earned win in the Grade I Vanity Stakes at Hollywood Park. Zenyatta was a prohibitive favourite.

Jockey Calvin Borel reached a milestone. At Churchill Downs on Saturday, Borel, 41, won start to finish with Screen Your Friend, a long shot at 18-1. It was Calvin Borel’s 4500th winner. Borel won the 2007 Kentucky Derby with Street Sense.

Kamsin came out on top on a rain-soaked track at Hamburg, Germany on Sunday in the Deutsches (German) Derby. The winner was a 13-2 chance. Peter Schiergen is the trainer. Kamsin was ridden by Andrasch Starke.

Duke Of Marmalade is a confirmed starter in the King George at Ascot in late July. The Duke, winner of three Group I races in 2008, was a runaway winner in the Prince of Wales at Royal Ascot last month. Soldier Of Fortune, second to Youmzain in Saint Cloud’s Prix de Grand Prix, is being pointed to a campaign in the fall.

There will be news about Curlin soon. He is to run on the grass. His success or otherwise in his grass debut will determine whether or not he will head to Paris for the Arc.

I am recovering from the demanding schedule I went through in Europe. There are trips within the United States that will keep me busy in the coming weeks. My next trip abroad will be to England and France in mid September. On October 5, Long champ hosts the Arc. I have started looking for affordable fares.