Breeders' Cup 2017: Matt Brocklebank's Del Mar diary including Aidan O'Brien on Churchill

The inauguration of James Garfield?

Who could forget it? York, Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival, August 2017.

"Here is the result of the photo finish for first place…"

Frankie Dettori was cutting a confident figure in the saddle. Surely, he’d held on.

"First number 10, Wells Farhh Go. Second number 6, James Garfield."

It can be deceptive - the camera angle at the Knavesmire, we know it well - but George Scott’s promising James Garfield had been chinned right on the post.

Victory in the Acomb Stakes may have eluded the little son of Exceed And Excel, but that narrow defeat to Tim Easterby’s towering son of Farhh was no disgrace on ground that was clearly against him and he's since proved the point with victory back on a better surface in the Group Two Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury.

Last month’s success capped a remarkable few days for budding handler Scott, who tied the knot with owner Bill Gredley’s daughter, Polly, the previous weekend.

Quite where James Garfield may ultimately take him remains to be seen, but Scott is riding a wave of positivity and can hardly wait for the gates to open in Friday night’s Juvenile Turf, a race the trainer admitted he’d had in mind as a potential target even before the Acomb.

Scott, bouncing with anticipation, said: "Frankie's so pumped up. He's like a kid, I've been trying to keep him under control travelling with him.

"Exceed And Excel sired the Juvenile Turf winner with Outstrip a few years ago and the fast ground is definitely going to be in our favour.

"He's been good as gold, I've only had positive reports from the lads with him and I thought he would. He’s a tough horse and takes everything face on so I’m not surprised to see him charging around out there this morning."

It can’t be easy being named after a President of the United States right now. But there’s a real feeling that James Garfield has every attribute required to thrive on his US bow and provide Scott with the biggest of big breaks.

"I don't speak to Frankie about tactics, it won't even come up. After the year he’s had and the form he’s in, I predict he’s going to pull off a real piece of magic this weekend.

"I'm just praying it's on my horse."

We shall fight on the beaches

One man who needs no assistance from the man upstairs is Aidan O'Brien.

A small smile to a van driver resulted in a chance encounter with the record-breaking trainer after he'd spent the day overseeing his 13-strong posse of horses in the quarantine barns.

Whether or not the sight of Aidan's flashy blue and orange Asics trainers in the corner of my eye resulted in my blurting out questions aimed mainly at Roly Poly and Churchill is yet to be confirmed, but for the sake of variety let's hope the great man has packed his purple and white Nike's for the next time we catch up.

O'Brien has won races at five of the past six Breeders' Cup fixtures.

Including High Chaparal's dead-heat in 2002, he has 11 BC winners in total, but the Classic still eludes him.

The likes of Henrythenavigator, So You Think and Gleneagles have tried and failed over the years and this time around it's over to War Decree and dual 2000 Guineas winner Churchill who bid to end the long-standing hoodoo.

"Churchill has had a busy season and he's had quite tough races," admitted the trainer.

"We're very happy with him, though, it'll be a big test for him but he's in good order.

"He gets a mile well, and he probably gets a mile and a quarter, but he usually breaks well. He's out of a Storm Cat mare so we're looking forward to him."

It's an interesting line. Storm Cat, of course, has sired many winners in the United States and also Giant's Causeway.

Giant's Causeway was O'Brien's first ever Classic runner and he memorably went down just a neck to Tiznow in 2000. The track? Churchill Downs.

There's always a but...

There’s a familiar feeling when it comes to some of the leading players in some of the most anticipated races, but how will last year’s BC heroes and villains fare 12 months on? And who is most likely to step up on what they achieved in Santa Anita?

I’ll start on the final point and cut to the chase with an eyecatching race-switcher: Home Of The Brave. His trainer Hugo Palmer reflects on last year’s decision to run in the Turf Sprint with a wry smile and a slightly pained expression.

“When we got to Santa Anita last year we were told ‘I hope your horse is fast as it races more like a five-furlong sprint than a six and a half’. I knew then we'd made the wrong call and basically couldn’t win anything, but we’ve not made the same mistake this time around.

"There’s no reason for me to believe Ribchester will underperform, in fact I feel he won’t do that, but if a horse who’s been on the go since Dubai at the start of the year and had a fairly hard race in the QEII a little under two weeks ago does disappoint, then I doubt anyone will be too surprised.

"Home Of The Brave is well, he’s been in good form all year. We beat Suedois when second in the Lennox and he's come out and beaten the best American turf milers at Keeneland. We’re drawn quite wide but that shouldn't be a problem and he could be pretty dangerous around there over a sharp mile."

Unfortunately, as is often the case in love and life, there's a caveat to this apparent bullishness.

Palmer's current global standing means he's required to be in Australia at the weekend to accompany the connections of his Melbourne Cup runner Wall Of Fire ahead of Tuesday's big race.

"If I win the Breeders' Cup Mile then it really doesn't matter where in the world I am."

There's just something about that line that puts me off entirely.

The Blueprint of a BC champion

As for the defending champs, the signs look strong.

Drefong unseated Mike Smith on his only previous visit to Del Mar in the summer but returns to defend his Sprint crown on the back of a career-best in the Forego Stakes.

Every American form student I've spoken to seems willing to excuse big Turf hope Highland Reel his Champion Stakes effort and when pressed I'm not finding it easy to put them off, in spite of seeing last year's fourth Ulysses looking pretty imposing and right at home with his surroundings in a gentle Tuesday morning workout.

The momentum behind Filly & Mare Turf heroine Queen's Trust appears to be building by the day and, as George Scott suggests, you wouldn't put it past Frankie to pull off something miraculous.

And then there's Arrogate, on whom I’m reserving final judgement until seeing him in the flesh but right now I’m finding having to pick between him and Gun Runner a bit like being asked to choose my favourite rapper.

The problem for Steve Asmussen’s notorious East Coaster is that it’s not just Dr Dre he’s up against in this West Coast battle, but Bob Baffert's equivalent of Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Tupac to boot.

It’s tricky to ride around, to ride around that’s right on time

It could be a great leveller when it comes to the horses, many of whom have never graced Del Mar’s famously tight bends, but track craft is going to be paramount and that’s where jockeys in the know will surely hold the aces.

Daniel G. Smith, chief of publicity for the track and as talkative as he is industrious in and around the quaint press room, shed some light on the configuration of the place and what makes a winner 'Where The Surf Meets The Turf'.

"The length of the stretch here is so short - on the grass it's just in excess of 800ft and the main track just in excess of 900ft. This means you need a smart jockey who is very good tactically with timing.

"The races get going turning out of the back and you have to be in a handy position so if you've not ridden here before, then it's going to be very tricky."

Mike Smith has over 100 Del Mar winners on his dance card.

Ryan Moore, Frankie Dettori, Seamie Heffernan et al - you've been warned.

Related links

• Sky Bet's Breeders' Cup odds and offers
• Breeder's Cup: The big issues
• Breeders' Cup: American superstars