Last year’s dual Oaks and Breeders’ Cup heroine returned to the winner’s circle to a tremendous reception from the faithful, but one tempered hugely by relief from those closest to her, for the race had been more or less make-or-break for the brilliant filly after an injury-plagued year. “I was taken across, I stayed put and it was a costly mistake. I wish I could ride the race again.”If there was a silver lining for the Sheikh, it was that the result was the sort of international victory that is so dear to his globetrotting heart. The New Zealand-bred Starcraft is owned by a Brisbane-based former pro punter, Paul Makin, is trained by the Newmarket-based Italian Luca Cumani and was ridden by a Frenchman, Christophe Lemaire.It was the massive five-year-old’s second Group One success in the northern hemisphere, to add to the three he had already notched up in Australia.

But his little bay partner, dwarfed by the mighty chestnut bulk beside him, was by then always second-best in that particular battle. The stiff, tight-lipped body language in the Godolphin camp spoke volumes.”The plan had of course been to follow the pacemaker,” said the organisation’s racing manager, Simon Crisford. “And we had even been aware that Rakti might go down the middle It was all very unfortunate. We’re not trying to detract from the winner, but we felt we didn’t quite get the rub of the green today.” Dettori was more forthright “I was on the best horse and I got beat,” he said. The best-laid plans of even Godolphin can go the way of those of mice and men. Starcraft donned the European milers’ crown by taking the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes here yesterday, bringing a brave European campaign by his Australian owner to a triumphant conclusion.

But the horse that finished three-quarters of a length behind in second place, Sheikh Mohammed’s pride and joy Dubawi, was the victim of a tactical disaster. In a six-horse field, a split-second decision forced on Dubawi’s rider, Frankie Dettori, undid the blues’ pre-race plot. From his number one stall, the pacemaker Blatant hared off along the stands rail, but Dubawi, from the six box, was trapped wide as Philip Robinson on Rakti, on his immediate inside, elected to run his race down the centre of the course.
As Rakti began to come to the end of his tether, Dettori tracked back across the course to join Starcraft, by then the clear leader. It’s just down to the genetic make-up of the bees, whether they are gentle or nasty.” Then he blows another puff of smoke and says it is time to leave before we come to an, ahem, sticky end: “They’re getting wound up.