Yet the man who had the Derby winner and the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner (in his wife's colours) suffered a mauling year according to some commentators.

What does a body have to do?

Well as an afterthought Sheikh Mohammed, honoured at the Cartier Awards, saved the British breeding industry.  Without his purchasing power at the Sales the market would have collapsed – completely.

Though both New Approach and Raven’s Pass were beaten by Coolmore warriors at various times in the season their performances placed them head and shoulders above their contemporaries – bar Zarkava.

The Aga Khan’s filly was truly exceptional every time she appeared though her Arc performance took her into a different sphere from her contemporaries.

So the Aga will always be a man to be reckoned with, not least when the progeny of Zarkava and Darjina, both of whom were retired to the maternity ward, start producing.

Coolmore continued to dominate the stallion stakes. Galileo and Montjeu h

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There were plenty of other statistics, ranging from Zarkava being the first to win the richest turf race in the world from number one stall since 1964; through the fact she was the first to carry off the fillies’ Triple Crown and the Arc in the same year since just after the Germans left, 1945; to ‘ratings’ which don’t put her in the same time capsule as the all-time greats; to the pedant who wondered if Soumillon throwing to his hat to the crowd was a first – “would he be disqualified?”

In jettisoning what had covered half his head Soumillon revealed himself to his, and his partner’s ecstatic audience. We couldn’t get enough of them.

Incidentally Soumillon could throw his whip away before he sets off – it’s redundant as far as Zarkava is concerned.

But what happened last Sunday in the Bois de Boulogne could not begin to be reduced to figures. French, Japanese, Spanish, German, Irish and British racing folk were united in celebration of her triumph.

Alright so there wasn’t dancing in the Champs Elysee. The French nation may have fewer inhibitions than most but racing isn’t entirely their bag – the man wi

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Even when his Arab bosses are enduring one of their all too frequent ‘quiet’ seasons, Dettori can be relied upon to shine.

In Saturday’s Ladbrokes St Leger he eclipsed the hitherto all-conquering Ballydoyle team, all five of them, and on a second string, Conduit.

Sir Michael Stoute’s jockey Ryan Moore persuaded himself that Doctor Fremantle was the champion trainer’s best chance of ending his 25 year hoodoo in the final Classic, the only one he’d never won.

Who else but Dettori then for the discard?

“They asked Steve Cauthen, they asked Lester Piggott, Kieren Fallon and plenty more before me,” yelled Dettori gleefully, echoing the Norwegian football commentator who, when his country downed England, named everyone from Princess Diana to Winston Churchill among those Brits who had taken the beating.

But the post race events in front of a huge Yorkshire audience, and the cameras, were the best example yet (even better than that n

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British racing may not be in rude good health but reports of its demise are awfully premature.

Lord Hesketh put his Towcester track up for sale this week, asking price £10m, but Northern Racing (nine tracks), Arena Leisure (seven) and the Jockey Club (14) are all in the bidding.

Towcester has a 132-year history and not the least ingredient of its success story of recent years has been the policy of free entry.

Great Leighs is the brainchild of one man, John Holmes.

Current ambitions for Holmes now his Essex track has survived its birth pangs are the equestrian events at the 2012 Olympics and twinning the track with the Breeders’ Cup.

On September 27 Great Leighs hosts four £40,000 races which Holmes hopes will blossom into trials for the Breeders’ Cup.

Ffos Llas, when it opens its doors in 2009, also owes its existence to one man’s dream, Dai Walters.

The Pembrokeshire track is taking shape beautif

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Fallon ‘marmelized’ (how he must ache not be aboard the Duke Of Marmalade this year) the field in Paris but that was last October and the debate as to why he and Dylan Thomas weren’t disqualified is now merely academic.

Nobody accused Ballydoyle of grabbing Europe’s premier all-aged race through team tactics; they were Fallon’s, his alone, brutal, effective.

Johnny Murtagh had no such obvious pressing engagements when he went out on Duke Of Marmalade at Newmarket last Saturday. And his odds-on mount, unlike Dylan Thomas, looked as though he only needed to go down and back up the July course to land their fifth Group One in succession, the Juddmonte International.

Nobody begrudges Johnny Murtagh his outstanding success as Fallon’s successor. He fought his demons to become the acceptable face of the weighing room.

Since his appointment this year and having read the gospel according to Ballydoyle, he has lauded every winner, given every Ballydoyle team member their due, signed all the autographs, been the perfect ambassador – until last weekend.

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