The three-day meeting at Ascot begins on Friday. Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (1600 metres) is a ‘you win and you’re in’ race. The winner gets a berth in the Breeders’ Cup in November at Santa Anita in California. There is another Group I event on Saturday. It is the Meon Valley Stud Fillies’ Mile. The Meon Valley winner also gets a place in the BC line-up.

Rip Van Winkle is even money in the market. The Aidan O’Brien pupil, who won the Group I Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, has been working satisfactorily and will attempt to give his trainer a second win in the QE II Stakes. O’Brien’s George Washington won it in 2006. Delegator, the Godolphin torchbearer, won the Group II Celebration Mile and is the 5-2 second favourite. Delegator was second to Sea The Stars at Newmarket in the English 2000 Guineas and finished ahead of Rip Van Winkle in that race. Aqlaam was an impressive winner of the Prix du Moulin and is a 5-1 chance in the QE II mile.

Long Lashes heads the market for the Meon Valley Stud Mile which has attracted 12 runners. The Godolphin filly was stopped when going for three in a row in the Group I Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh in late August. Long Lashes could not handle the mud. Positive noises are coming from the Godolphin camp and the hope is that the course on Saturday will be firm enough for the Rock Hard Ten filly.

Cabaret invades from Ireland. The daughter of Galileo, from Aidan O’Brien’s yard, was second to Termagant in her debut. She made good on that debut promise when breaking the duck at the Curragh over the Irish Derby weekend. In mid-July, Cabaret won Leopardstown’s Silver Flash Stakes in impressive fashion. John Murtagh, who returned to riding at Fairyhouse on Tuesday after undergoing physiotherapy on a back injury sustained in a fall at Dundalk on September 6, will have the call on Cabaret.

We are changing gears now. Summer Squall has been euthanized. The son of Storm Bird was suffering from complications from infirmities of old age. He was at William Farish’s Lane’s End Farm, near Versailles, Kentucky. He was 22. Summer Squall is a half brother to A P Indy. He was out of Weekend Surprise by Secretariat. In 2004, he was pensioned. After running second to Unbridled in the Derby, Summer Squall turned the tables in the Preakness. Summer Squall’s son, Charismatic won the Derby and the Preakness in 1999 and finished third in the Belmont Stakes.

Mr William Farish spoke with emotion: “He was an important part of one of Lane’s End’s great families.”

There will be 14 Breeders’ Cup races this year. There will be $25.5 million in purses. ABC/ESPN will offer nine hours of live coverage and the broadcast will be seen in 40 countries. On Friday November 6, the BC program will start with the Marathon at 12 35 PM (Pacific time) and will be followed by five successive races for distaffers ending with the Ladies’ Classic. Eight races will be run on Saturday and post time for the first BC event is 10 45 AM.

Do you remember Yeats? The O’Brien-trained gelding won the 3000-metre Ascot Gold Cup in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. In the Irish St Leger, his last start, the eight year-old raced disappointingly. Yeats will race in the Prix du Cadran, a race in which he was turned over in 2007 and 2008 as an odds-on, at Longchamp on Arc day.

Here is all the news about the Arc. Europe’s richest race will be run at Longchamp outside Paris on Sunday, October 4. Conduit, the 2008 English St Leger and BC Turf winner, will be in the line-up. The missing link in Sir Stoute’s resume is the Arc de Triomphe. Ballymacoll has had a runner in the Longchamp 13 times. The record is thrice second and thrice third.

Peter Reynolds, Managing Director at Ballymacoll Stud, explained. “Sea The Stars is exceptional and he well and truly beat us in Sandown’s Coral Eclipse, but we would not run unless we thought we had a chance. The thing about Conduit is he came good this time last year. He is also better over a mile and a half.”

Dar Re Mi’s participation in the Arc will depend on the outcome of the appeal lodged by her owners. It will be heard today. The Singspiel filly won the Prix Vermeille and was disqualified and placed fourth for interference to two runners. The race went to Stacelita.

Stacelita, runaway winner in the Prix Diane (French Oaks), made it six in a row when promoted as the winner of the Prix Vermeille. She is more effective if there is ease in the ground. Her trainer, Jean Rouget made a statement and did not omit a reference to Sea The Stars. “She’s squealing and jumping out of her skin. She is absolutely ready but unless the rains come, we’re basically running for second place.”

Fame And Glory was second to Sea The Stars in the Epsom Derby. Late in June, the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt won the Irish Derby putting daylight between himself and his adversaries. In early September, Fame And Glory was again beaten by Sea The Stars in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.

Aidan O’Brien sounded upbeat. “There is no doubt he has to improve. We were over the moon after Leopardstown. We were impressed with the way he quickened. He will be fit for the Arc. A lot of questions will be answered in the Arc.”

Beheshtam, second in the Prix Niel, will gallop next week and a decision will be made. The Aga Khan-owned Beheshtam is in the care of Alain de Royer-Dupre.

Sariska needs to be supplemented at a cost of 100,000 pounds by October 1. The dual Oaks winner suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Dar Re Mi in the Yorkshire Oaks. The Pivotal filly worked at Newmarket on Wednesday and pleased Michael Bell, her trainer.

Trainer Bell commented. “She is fit and ready to run. We need only a bit of rain to help. There’s enough time to decide.”

Youmzain, Kieren Fallon’s mount, will wear blinkers for the first time. The Mick Channon trainee has 2.5 million pounds in his account. Would you believe that he has earned only 400,000 from six wins?

Talking of Kieren Fallon, he has a mission. He had two winners at Kempton in a twilight card on Wednesday. He made it all with New World Order in a race that was so terrible that shunning it would have been the best option. New World Order, a 9-2 chance, defied a lot of negatives. In the very next race, Fallon came off the pace to win with Luc Jordan, a 5-1 chance. Fallon is working extra hard to make up for lost time.

Alpine Rose, to be ridden by Gerard Mosse, is training forwardly. It has been reported that her connections, in addition to the Arc, are also considering the Prix de Opera. Alpine Rose was mugged on the line by Spanish Moon in the Saint Cloud Grand Prix in late June. Since, she has won the Prix Corrida and the Group I Prix Jean Romanet. Alpine Rose worked in the company of The Bogberry who will take his chances in the Arc in the hands of Magomet Kappushev, a jockey from Russia.

Politics and horse racing are subjects that are discussed only when government policy affects horse racing. Here is a story that I must narrate. Trainer Gary Moore, based in England, is sending two horses, Mourilyan and Bankable, to Australia to compete in prestigious events. The two horses are owned by Ramzan Kadyrov, President of Chechnya.

Bob Brown, leader of the Australian Green Party, has said that there are charges linking Kadyrov to kidnappings, murders and torture. Human rights activists have alleged that Kadyrov runs Chechnya as a personal fiefdom with Russia’s help. Brown has asked Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd to intervene and stop Kadyrov’s horses from coming. Brown stated, “if this nasty character were to get his hands on the Melbourne Cup, it would be the lowest point in Australia’s sporting history.”

Bob Hines, Victorian Racing Club Chief Executive, made a statement. “If these horses are legally registered in the UK, which I believe they are, then we have no grounds for rejection.”

On Wednesday at Kempton, in the first race, a 480,000-pound (price) first time starter, Looby Loo was in the field. The odds-on favourite was Edith’s Boy who was making his 13th start. Looby Loo was the 5-2 second choice. Edith’s Boy led and lasted. Looby Loo got going late and came charging to miss narrowly.

Looby Loo’s trainer is Peter Chapple-Hyam. Trainer Hyam had a filly who was half sister to Dutch Art, a Group I winner from Hyam’s yard. When talking about the debuting filly, Hyam said, “She may be related to a superstar, but so was Muhammad Ali’s brother and he wasn’t much of a boxer, was he?”

The bottom line is that Edith’s Boy did not know he was beating a very expensive horse.

Today, Thursday, there will be four tracks going. Pontefract has a 2 30 PM start with a six-race card. Kempton runs eight races with a 5 30 PM start. Fontwell has a seven-race jumps card with a 2 10 PM start. Perth will have seven jumps races and the first race is 2 20 PM.

I topped off two Oyster Card (train and bus travel) on Wednesday. Mrs Krish is arriving in London on September 30. A visit to Harrods is mandatory in addition to other shopping. We take the Eurostar to Paris on October 2.

It is close to 6 AM in London on Thursday as I finish this text. It is cold. I am equipped. I have cold weather clothing. Rain is staying away. I will be at Ascot on Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing some friends and renew acquaintances.