What has been termed the ‘Henry Cecil magic’ was on display at Newmarket Racecourse on Saturday. Twice Over, a four year-old colt, had shown a lot of potential but his resume did not have any wins in high-profile races. In the 2008 Champion Stakes, Twice Over played second fiddle to the runaway New Approach. With Fame And Glory and Sariska in the field, Twice Over was not taken seriously and was a 14-1 chance.

Newmarket had a glittering seven-race card and the Champion Stakes was at the top of the heap and was a ‘you win and you’re in race’ that gave the winner a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. The first race was at 1.50 PM and Chicago was simulcasting the Newmarket races. I was at Maywood Park, a harness track minutes away from where I live, at a quarter to eight. It was a cold morning and I carried a cup of hot coffee. I had attended the Friday evening harness meeting at Maywood and the fourteenth and last race was at 11.30 PM. The Newmarket lure was so strong that lack of sleep was a minor inconvenience.

The Dewhurst Stakes, the final Group I race for freshmen in Europe, was the second race but we will come to that later. Fame And Glory, winner of the Irish Derby in June, had run second to Sea The Stars in the Epsom Derby and the Irish Champion Stakes. The Aidan O’Brien pupil’s only aberration came in the Arc when he could no better than finish sixth. The fans needed little convincing despite the Arc loss and the Montjeu colt was the 13-8 favourite.

The course was good to firm. Sariska was slowly away. Set Sail, Colm O’Donoghue up, took the lead. Barshiba, a longshot, and Fame And Glory followed. It was a strong gallop. The others were several lengths away. With 800 metres left, one could see that Jockey John Murtagh was having trouble keeping Fame And Glory to his task. The favourite was being asked to keep up and the response was tepid. Pipedreamer made first run. Twice Over shot out of the pack and moved into the firing line. Mawatheeq, racing in Group I company for the first time, was making headway. Sariska, widest of all, was finding her best stride. Set Sail could not go on as he hit rising ground and Fame And Glory was under pressure. It was Twice Over, Tom Queally up, who struck the front with Mawatheeq in chase. As Twice Over ran on to win from Mawatheeq, Sariska salvaged third. Fame And Glory was out of the frame. Richard Hills, Mawatheeq’s rider, lodged an objection against Twice Over for interference. It was not allowed.

The Champion Stakes was worth 213,000 pounds to Prince Khalid Abdullah, the owner of Twice Over. Observatory is Twice Over’s sire. The dam is Double Crossed by Caerleon. The winning margin was one half-length and the 2000-metre Champion Stakes was run in 2 1.31 seconds on good to firm ground.

It was Sir Henry Cecil’s third win in the Champion Stakes. It was jockey Tom Queally’s fourth Group I win this year. Now, a trip to Santa Anita is a strong possibility. Twice Over has a spot in the BC Turf but the connections are talking about a tilt at the Classic on the pro ride surface.

Jockey Queally spoke. “This horse deserves it. He has had so many near misses. The race went well. I had a nice run through. He has got his confidence back right back up and it’s paid off today.”

Sir Cecil did not hide his emotion. “The going had me worried. He (Twice Over) likes it softer. It’s great for Prince Khalid as he has been a great supporter. I have to thank him and Jane, my wife, without whom I would not be here today.”

Lord Grimthorpe, racing manager for Khalid Abdullah, paid tribute to Sir Cecil. “We had not looked at the Breeders’ Cup until today. Twice Over won very well today and the BC Classic is under consideration. The question mark is that the Classic is on a surface that he has never raced on. Twice Over had a tough race in the Prince of Wales. Henry (Sir Cecil) did the right thing. He gave him a break followed by two comfortable lead-up races. He was aiming at this race for a long time and got the horse right. That is the genius of Henry Cecil.”

Trainer Padmanabhan in Bangalore must be over the moon. He has a strong relationship with Sir Henry Cecil. I am sure Padmanabhan found the time to make a congratulatory call to Sir Cecil despite being busy getting his wards ready for the Invitation Cup weekend at Malakpet.

Khalid Abullah will be strongly represented in the BC races. His ‘green, pink sash and cap, white sleeves’ will be carried at Santa Anita by Zacinto, Midday, Spanish Moon, Father Time and Famous Name. Here is another note. It was double celebration in the Prince’s camp when Champs Elysees roared through the stretch to win the $2,000,000 Canadian International at Woodbine later in the day.

There was a shock result in the Jumeira Dewhurst Stakes. Fifteen freshmen went postward in the 1400-metre Group I event. Chabal, Kevin Manning up, was attempting to give trainer Jim Bolger his fourth consecutive Dewhurst victory. Teofilo in 2006, New Approach in 2007 and Intense Focus in 2008 were Bolger’s colts who won the Dewhurst.

Aidan O’Brien was represented by four freshmen. The best backed was Steinbeck, a John Murtagh mount, who had not raced since breaking the duck in mid-May at Naas.

Steinbeck set out on a brisk gallop and Chabal lay in striking range. In the last 200 metres, Steinbeck was getting leg weary. Chabal was on empty. Beethoven and Fencing Master, two O’Brien-trained colts, and Xtension fought a three-way battle as they raced past the rising ground. Beethoven, Ryan Moore up and racing for the 10th time in his short career, got up to win by a neck over Fencing Master, Colm O’Donoghue up. A nose away in third was Xtension. Steinbeck was another neck off in fourth. It was not all smiles for Ryan Moore as he was slapped with a two-day ban for using the whip with excessive frequency.

The 1400-metre Dewhurst was run in 1 23.49 seconds. The race was worth 180,000 pounds to the winner. Beethoven was a 33-1 chance. After breaking maiden in August at Leopardstown, Beethoven had run disappointingly since. Oratorio is Beethoven’s sire. Oratorio won the Lagardere on Arc Day in 2004. In 2005, he beat Motivator in the Coral Eclipse. Queen Titi by Saddler’s Wells is Beethoven’s dam.

It was the second win in the Dewhurst for Aidan O’Brien. His first win came eight years ago with Rock of Gibraltar. The bookmakers were not impressed but they did react. Beethoven was introduced to the Guineas market and there was a 20-1 offer.

Aidan O’Brien commented. “My son, Joseph, rode him the other day and said there was plenty in there and to put a visor to sharpen him up a little bit. I have always thought Beethoven is good. It is possible he will go to the BC. We have not decided what BC race it’ll be.”

The other race worthy of mention is the Totesport.com Cesarewitch. Thirty-two runners answered the starter’s call in the one-turn 3600-metre race. The race was run in three minutes and 49.8 seconds and was won by Darley Sun, the 9-2 favourite who was backed down from 7-1. Andrea Atzeni rode Darley Sun. David Simcock is the winning trainer.

A three year-old Tiger Hill colt, Darley Sun was let loose in the last 300 metres and he won going away by five lengths. Trainer Simcock thought aloud. “It was a relief more than anything, as you all think about is what could go wrong. He’ll be put away now. He does stay and is quicker. The nice thing is that he goes into a four year-old campaign totally unpenalized. He could go right to the top.”

Kieren Fallon had his moment in the sun in the final Group I card in England. He was aboard Music Show, a Noverre filly, when winning the Lotus Evora Rockfel Stakes, a Group II race over 1,400 metres. Music Show beat Atasari in a photo and close behind in third was Tabassum, the odds on favourite who made the running and gave way in the waning yards.

I am mentioning Noverre because of the Indian context. Music Show’s trainer, Mick Channon, had his son saddle Lahaleeb to win the E P Taylor Stakes, a Grade I race, at Woodbine on Saturday. Lahaleeb’s BC participation is in doubt though the E P Taylor was a ‘you win and you’re in’ race.

In my next report, we will take a look at what happened at Woodbine. Keeneland hosted the QE Cup and there was an upset. Frankie Dettori won a Group I race in Europe.

Who will it be? Set Alight and Antonios are back at it again. How I wish I was at Malakpet. I love to read Horse Talk postings. Good luck!