Breeders' Cup 2012: Day two review - Wise Dan and Fort Larned star

Wise Dan wins the Mile.

Simon Rowlands runs the rule over events on the second and final day of Breeders' Cup 2012...

It would be customary to start any review of Breeders' Cup Saturday with a discussion of the main event, the Classic, worth $5m. However, exciting though that race was, it took second, if not third or fourth place, to other events in terms of its wider significance.

Pride of place should really go to the Turf Mile, which promised so much in its match-up between the best horse in North America (Wise Dan) and the best remaining miler in Europe (Excelebration) but which disappointed slightly in the event.

A track record, on what was a lightning-quick turf course, cannot disguise the fact that this was not a truly vintage effort by Wise Dan's own high standards in victory, and it was clearly a substandard one by Excelebration in defeat in fourth.

While neither Animal Kingdom (a Kentucky Derby winner who shaped with a great deal of promise in second) nor Obviously (winner of Grade 2s on his last two starts and rated 121) is a mug, close-up fifth and sixth, Mr. Commons and Jeranimo, had never been rated above 119 in countless previous starts and call the bare form into some question.

Wise Dan was a ready winner, no more, in running to 126 (compared to a Timeform Master Rating of 134). But his earlier successes, particularly in the Woodbine Mile and the Fourstardave Handicap, identify him as the best horse in North America in the last 12 months and probably marginally superior to Excelebration on balance.

The latter had no clear excuses on the day, but it would be perverse to suggest that he should be judged in isolation on what he did here - on faster conditions than previously, after just two weeks off and having travelled halfway around the world - than on his many superior efforts under different conditions in Europe.

Meanwhile, Animal Kingdom could be set for a big 2013 - perhaps starting with the Dubai World Cup - if his trainer can keep him sound and in this sort of form.

There had been a shock winner of the other big grass event - the mile-and-a-half Turf - when Little Mike showed unexpected stamina to hold off Point of Entry and St Nicholas Abbey. The runner-up looked unlucky, being hampered early and short of room when trying to come through, but Little Mike has now bagged three big prizes this year and goes up to 126. St Nicholas Abbey is considered to have underperformed by 3 lb in finishing a never-nearer third.

And so to the main event, the Classic. It looked to some to be a formality for Game On Dude, who went off a heavily-backed favourite. But even the best and the most consistent can have off days occasionally, and he was in trouble some way out having not got away as quickly as usual.

It was left to Fort Larned and Mucho Macho Man to separate from the field on the home turn and treat viewers to an epic Breeders' Cup duel. Try as he could, Mucho Macho Man (who went 1.72 in-running) could not quite get past the ultra-game leader, and Fort Larned had got back to half a length to the good by the line.

In terms of ratings, this was a substandard winning Classic effort (if not by quite so much as Drosselmeyer the year before) with Fort Larned running to 126 and plenty of his rivals seemingly running rather tired races. But Fort Larned is clearly going to be a tough nut to crack if staying in training as a five-year-old.

Best performance of the day on Timeform ratings came from Groupie Doll in the Filly & Mare Sprint, in which she again put daylight between herself and some smart rivals, running to a 128 figure that places her alongside Royal Delta in terms of raw ability.

Still earlier, George Vancouver had struck the only blow for Europeans on the day when taking the Juvenile Turf from Noble Tune and Balance The Books (the latter shaping very well). A 116 rating for the winner is nothing out of the ordinary for this race, but George Vancouver did seem to pay a compliment to Dawn Approach, who had dismissed him by three and a half lengths in the Dewhurst.

Dawn Approach and Shanghai Bobby had been disputing the title of "Best Two-Year-Old In The World", but that seems to rest with the former now, despite the latter's win in the Juvenile.

Shanghai Bobby was asked to go very fast fractions and only just hung on in a slow-motion finish, with the form of those behind looking rather suspect. He remains on 123, despite running to only 118 here, but that is now 3 behind Dawn Approach's new mark.

Trinniberg gained a deserved success in the Dirt Sprint, running to 124, while Tapizar was a long-priced winner of a weak Dirt Mile (rated 121) and Mizdirection a surprisingly well-backed winner of a Turf Sprint (running to 120) in which Starspangledbanner clocked a remarkable 42.39 seconds for the first four furlongs from a running start.

There was plenty of talk about a possible inside-favouring track bias and, incorrectly, about a generalised pace bias on the dirt course, while the turf track prompted more hard-luck stories than to be heard in a losing Premiership manager's press conference. But punters and race fans had best get used to racing at Santa Anita, for the 2013 Breeders' Cup is due to take place there also.