Zenyatta goes in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Saturday and she is a lovely mare who has done everything you could ask for so far.

She is now going to take on the colts and depending on how the race is run and as long as there is a strong enough pace then the mile and a quarter may actually suit her.

She has been used to running in small fields with no pace and she has had to overcome that. I heard that jockey Mike Smith said that the extra eighth of a mile is likely to suit rather than be a problem for her.

It is very sportsmanlike for connections to take on this race and it would be great if she could pull it off.

Who knows, maybe there is still some question about who can be Horse of the Year.

Rip Van Winkle is favourite and it is clear from last year that the European horses will be able to handle the track.

Aidan O'Brien clearly has a pretty good idea that his horses will handle conditions and it's actually a bit up in the air for everybody as horses come from all over America and all the dirt surfaces are a little bit different.

There is no reason why Rip Van Winkle won't handle the surface and clearly he is a talented horse - although the foot problem he has had in the build-up won't help.

His connections are second to none and have a gameplan so hopefully he gets to the start in one piece.

It's a field full of talented horses like Einstein, Colonel John and Rio Ponti, who have all been showing good form through the year and if it is their day any one of them could pop up and win.

But most likely it looks between Rip Van Winkle and Zenyatta.

The Europeans looks to have the edge in the Turf and in particular with defending champion Conduit.

There is really nothing from America that would make you think they could beat the likes of him or Spanish Moon for that matter - so Sir Michael Stoute could have a one-two finish!

The leading American challenger is Presious Passion, who had a nice win on turf at Santa Anita recently but I don't think that is the same level as Conduit winning a King George.

This will be a different level and Conduit rightly looks a standout - I am sure he will be an odds-on favourite over here.

Goldikova is back again after she won the Mile very impressively last year.

The fact she can track a good, solid pace and has such a good turn of foot gives her in my mind an advantage.

But there are good horses up against her - Cowboy Cal has been running solidly all year long while Whatsthescript was third to Goldikova 12 months ago and has not been doing anything wrong.

Justenuffhumor ran badly last time on the soft turf at Keeneland and Court Vision has proved that turf is his best surface.

I don't think he can beat Goldikova over a mile unless he gets lucky and if she shows up like she did last year she will win.

Zensational looks good coming into the Sprint and Bob Baffert clearly knows how to train winners at the Breeders' Cup.

I heard him saying that he thought this was one of his best opportunities at the meeting and clearly has a favourite's chance.

But I think it's a tough race and the one I would be worried about if I were them would be Gayego.

He ran a very impressive prep race at the track and he looks the one to beat for all of them.

For him, it would be best if the likes of Zensational and Fatal Bullet go off and get into a bit of a tussle, which would be a perfect set-up for him.

Fatal Bullet was second in the race last year and is a tough campaigner who could be tough to run down while Capt. Candyman Can might need a bit further in distance.

But looking at it now my bet is on Gayego.

Forever Together is the defending champion in the Filly & Mare Turf and she has enjoyed a really good year.

Trainer Jonathan Sheppard is great with turf horses and I am sure she will produce a good run - whether she is just quite as good as last year is questionable.

But she will be thereabouts as will Magical Fantasy, who perhaps has more upside and could improve a little bit further.

Rutherienne is tough and could be a possibility if everything fell into place but perhaps she is more of a Grade Two filly.

Henry Cecil's Midday will like the decent ground and is a quality performer as well and has a reasonable chance if ready to roll.

Lookin At Lucky is favourite for the Juvenile and this is the horse that Bob Baffert thought would be his most likely winner.

He has done nothing wrong and has done it all in workmanlike fashion - but never looks like he is going to be beaten.

He has been running against the best in California but now has to take on the best from the east coast like Aikenite and Aspire.

The horse that could be the one to jump up and shake things is D'Funnybone trained by Dick Dutrow.

To wrap up, my best bet of the meeting value-wise is Gayego in the Sprint.

He has had a fairly light year and connections have found that sprinting could be his thing.

He looks ready to roll, handles the track and you can get a fairly decent price on him as it is a pretty hot race.

I would also love to see Zenyatta win as it would be a great feather in her cap.