Breeders Cup to be the showdown

The Breeders Cup Classic in New York next month looks set to host the decider between Galileo and Fantastic Light.

Following Fantastic Light's thrilling revenge upon his King George conqueror in Saturday's Irish Champion Stakes, both camps are ready to settle the score at the Belmont Park highlight.

Aidan O'Brien, speaking from Longchamp yesterday where he watched Hawkeye run third to Slickly in the Prix du Moulin, reported Galileo to be "grand" following his gruelling tussle with the Godolphin older horse.

"The Classic was the plan before the race and I imagine it still is. I don't think there is anything different in that," he said, before confirming a return to a mile and a half for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is not an option for the double Derby winner.

The trainer also confirmed the plan is to send Galileo to the Southwell all-weather track in England about three weeks before the Breeders Cup to give him a taste of galloping on a dirt surface.

Other Ballydoyle hopes for the Breeders Cup series, such as the top sprinter Mozart, will also travel to Southwell in a move that will mirror the preparation given to Giants Causeway last year before his near miss in the Classic.

Fantastic Light has worked extensively on dirt in Dubai and immediately after his famous triumph on Saturday was being aimed across the Atlantic.

Events in the US on Saturday indicated that the dirt classic could turn into an event dominated by overseas horses as last year's American champion Tiznow could only finish third to the non-Breeders Cup-entered Lido Palace in the Woodward Stakes.

Albert The Great finished runner-up in the race at Belmont.

Coral have installed both European-based horses as their 3 to 1 joint-favourites for the Classic, a race won only once by a European-based runner, Arcangues in 1993.

Despite the stirring nature of Saturday's epic, which enthralled a bumper 17,000 Leopardstown crowd, Galileo has been judged not to have run quite up to his best. The Irish handicappers have rated his effort over the mile and a quarter at 129, although his overall rating remains at 130.

"We will put Fantastic Light on to 130 also and it was quite an easy race to rate with Bach the key form horse six lengths back in third," said Gary O'Gorman yesterday.

That is a career best figure for Fantastic Light and further confirmation that the Godolphin team had everything worked out perfectly for the weekend clash which lived up to its pre-race billing, and then some.

There was only a head between the two old rivals after a prolonged battle up the straight that resulted in the winner's rider Frankie Dettori receiving a caution from the stewards for his use of the whip.

It was the only minor black spot on a day that worked perfectly for the Italian after a late and decisive change of tactics by Sheikh Mohammed and his brother, Sheikh Maktoum.

"We decided not to wait for Galileo and to run our own race," Sheikh Mohammed explained. "So we said to Frankie to get in front of Galileo and let him take you on." Dettori had his doubts but it worked out perfectly. Galileo's pacemaker, Ice Dancer, was ignored; Dettori tracked his own pacemaker Give The Slip and Galileo shadowed Fantastic Light to the straight. It was just before the turn-in that Dettori slipped up the inside of his stablemate, Galileo went wide, and the race was set up at the two-furlong pole.

"The King George was some battle but this took the mickey out of it. No horse wanted to give up. My horse has been in a few fights, and knows how to fight, but full credit to Galileo. He is a champion too," said Dettori who won the Champion Stakes for the third time.

"Dubai Millenium was the greatest but Fantastic Light is up there with the very best like Daylami and Swain," he added.

O'Brien's immediate reaction was to blame himself for getting the race tactically wrong.

"I probably didn't read the race properly. The other pacemaker didn't go after Ice Dancer and the result was a steady middle of the race," he said. "Galileo is only a baby still, he has been racing all year and you can't go to the well all the time. I wouldn't imagine he will go for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes now."

The big race naturally overshadowed the rest of the Leopardstown card but Ishiguru set himself up for a tilt at Longchamp's Prix de l'Abbaye with a head defeat of Indian Spark in the Group 3 Flying Five.

"He looks a real speed horse and he did well to win considering he was drawn away from the early pace," said O'Brien who also won with the two-year-old, Della Francesca.