Ed Crisford is confident Carla’s Way will be “bang there at the finish” in Friday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita.

The daughter of Starspangledbanner proved her class with victory in the Group Two Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket in late September, since when she has been kept fresh for her trip to California.

Carla’s Way is part of a strong European contingent that also includes Donnacha O’Brien’s Cheveley Park Stakes heroine Porta Fortuna and Aidan O’Brien’s Content – and Crisford, who trains in partnership with his father, Simon, believes their filly has plenty in her favour.

He said: “It’s a really good race and Donnacha’s filly is a very good filly who has won a Group One, but Carla’s Way also brings sort of Group One form into the race having beaten the first and second in the Fillies’ Mile (Ylang Ylang and Shuwari).

“She will suit this track and a two-turn mile extremely well. We just didn’t want to run her on a straight mile on soft ground in the Fillies’ Mile so we opted to come here and we thought it would suit her down to the ground – she can just ping off that quick ground.

“Her draw (stall nine) isn’t too bad and you have options from there at least. I always thought five to 10 is where I wanted to be so it is OK.

“She is in really good form and has taken to Santa Anita extremely well. She’s been on the track in a morning and for a two-year-old it can be quite a lot going to a new place and seeing all the horses training on the track there, but she is just loving it and is like an old pro.

“She’s taken everything in her stride, I couldn’t be happier with her and I think she goes in with a favourite’s chance. Hopefully she gets a clean trip and I’m sure she will be bang there at the finish.”

Porta Fortuna has won four of her six starts, with her Cheveley Park success preceded by Group Three triumphs at Naas and in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot.

She has not yet won beyond six furlongs and tackles a mile for the first time, but O’Brien is happy to roll the dice.

“She’s been fantastic for us and has had a great year,” he said.

“She’s in great form and seems to have travelled over well. We are not sure if we will stay the mile, but she will handle the ground and the track should be fine so we are excited.

“Ever since the day the owners bought her after her maiden this has been sort of a long-term plan. Obviously you can never expect to be at the Breeders’ Cup, but if she turned out to be good enough this was always the plan and thankfully she has.

“We’re just keeping her safe and happy and healthy until the race and hopefully we get a bit of luck on the day.”

O’Brien senior saddled Meditate to claim victory in last year’s renewal and will be hoping Content can raise her game following a surprise Group Three win at the Curragh four weeks ago.

Leading contenders for the home team include Cherie DeVaux’s She Feels Pretty and Hard To Justify, who looks to provide her trainer Chad Brown with a fifth win in the last 11 runnings.

The British horseracing industry has launched a petition urging the UK government to halt the planned introduction of what are seen as intrusive affordability checks.

By 11am on Thursday over 10,000 had already signed the online petition just hours after it had been posted, which it says could push punters towards black markets.

The Gambling White Paper published in April outlined plans to introduce blanket affordability checks which the industry as a whole has come together to rally against.

Racing industry experts have warned of a “catastrophic” impact on horse racing, with more than half of 14,000 people who recently took part in a survey suggesting they would walk away from the sport rather than provide personal financial information.

Independent estimates say up to £250million could be lost in revenue over the next five years.

Although it is registered in the name of Nevin Truesdale, chief executive of the Jockey Club, the petition is launched on behalf of Britain’s horseracing industry, which supports more than 85,000 jobs and contributes £4.1billion to the UK economy each year.

Its online citation reads: “We want the government to abandon the planned implementation of affordability checks for some people who want to place a bet. Such checks – including assessing whether people are ‘at risk of harm’ based on their postcode or job title – are inappropriate and discriminatory.

“The proposed checks could see bettors having to prove they can afford their hobby if they sustain losses as low as £1.37 per day. We accept the need to help those with problem gambling but more intrusive checks triggered at a higher threshold risks bettors moving to the black market where there are no consumer protections or safer gambling tools. There will also be a negative impact on British horseracing’s finances due to a reduction in betting turnover and resulting fall in Levy yield.”

Truesdale said: “The horseracing industry is hugely supportive of changes which directly address problem gambling, especially in the digital age we are in and we welcome the reform of the gambling laws which will result from the white paper, once it passes through the Parliamentary legislative process.

“However, the proposed and ongoing affordability checks are a significant infringement on personal freedom and have the potential to impact unfairly on two groups of people – the millions who gamble responsibly every year and the tens of thousands whose livelihoods depend directly and indirectly on horseracing.

“It is deeply disturbing that racing fans may have to prove they can afford to lose what amounts to less than £10 a week having a flutter on the sport they love, in particular when you consider the extremely low percentage of problem gambling in relation to horseracing. Nowhere else in society do we see this level of intrusiveness from the government when it comes to people’s legitimate hobbies.”

Truesdale added that a major concern regarding the government’s plans is that the checks themselves will not actually succeed in addressing the biggest issue they have been designed to tackle.

“If you introduce these blanket checks as they have been proposed, all it will actually do is create issues and friction for people, most of whom bet perfectly responsibly,” he said.

“We would like to see a much more targeted system of checks, which specifically respond to other markers of harm rather than just a blanket affordability check that will do nothing to address the underlying issue.”

Should 100,000 sign the petition it will be considered for debate in parliament.

Hamish will attempt to successfully complete an unbeaten 2023 season when he lines up in the rearranged Betfred St Simon Stakes at Newmarket on Friday.

William Haggas’ stable stalwart, who is owned by the trainer’s father, Brian, has won all three outings this term and was last seen winning easily at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

He will now race on the Rowley Mile for the very first time, bidding to go one better than when second in the race when held at its usual home of Newbury 12 months ago.

“We need some more rain really, but I think the ground will be pretty soft,” said Haggas.

“Newmarket is a completely different test for him. He’s a quirky horse so it will be interesting to see how he copes. We have never contemplated running him here, but there is a first time for everything I suppose.

“He is a useful horse. He’s in good form, so we’re hopeful.”

It was Max Vega who denied Hamish in the race last year and he is one of two in the race for trainer Ralph Beckett, alongside stablemate Lone Eagle.

Charlie Appleby’s King Of Conquest steps up in trip having pushed Haggas’ My Prospero close at Goodwood in September while Karl Burke’s Al Qareem has been in brilliant order since returning from a layoff and adds extra spice to the contest in search of a hat-trick.

“We chose to run here rather than go to France (for the Prix Royal-Oak). We just felt near enough two miles on heavy ground would be hard work for him when you add in the travelling as well,” explained Nick Bradley, managing director of owners Nick Bradley Racing.

“I think the race is strong enough, the last two times he has been headed and fought back and I would be pretty hopeful, but Hamish is obviously in there as a very good horse.

“We go there expecting a big run and soft ground over a mile and a half might be perfect for him. I don’t quite know what his optimum is, when he won his Group Two it was over further on soft ground, but right now this is what I would choose – a mile and a half and soft ground.”

The Bradley silks will be carried for the first time by Grant Tuer’s Nottingham scorer Je Ne Sais Quoi in the supporting Irish EBF “Bosra Sham” Fillies’ Stakes, a race that has attracted 15 two-year-old fillies.

Chief among some talented youngsters in the field is Richard Hannon’s Serene Seraph who was placed behind a number of quality operators in her first two starts before opening her account in style at Newbury.

She now makes her first start for new owners Wathnan Racing and connections are confident she will handle the drop back in trip as they search for some end-of-season black type.

“She will take her chance coming back a furlong but I think she will get away with it,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser for the owners.

“It looks like very testing ground as it was at Newbury when she won last time.

“She has some very strong form in the book and we were keen to have a go at some black type before putting her away for next year.

“She’s a big filly and she will only be better next year, but Richard is very happy with her and we are happy to take a chance.”

Dual Group One winner Mostahdaf will retire to the stallion ranks at Shadwell’s Beech House Stud after his final career start in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf on Saturday.

The Frankel colt is trained by John and Thady Gosden for owner-breeder Shadwell, the racing operation of Sheikha Hissa.

His five-year-old campaign has been a great success with victories in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte International at York, performances that see him lining up at Santa Anita on a mark of 128 with nearly £2.5million in prize-money earnt so far.

Beech House Stud in Newmarket is newly refurbished and will become the home of all Shadwell’s UK-based stallions, meaning Mostahdaf will stand alongside Baaeed, Tasleet and Mohaather.

Angus Gold, Shadwell’s racing manager, said: “Mostahdaf has been a top-class horse for the last three seasons, from showing his speed when winning five of his six races as a three-year-old between seven furlongs and a mile; he then displayed his clear versatility and ability over further.

“Since winning the Neom Turf Cup in Saudi Arabia by seven lengths earlier this year, he has come from behind to beat the best 10-furlong horses in Europe at Royal Ascot, and then made all in the Juddmonte International. At York he highlighted both his speed and class by running six of the last eight furlongs under 12 seconds.

“Mostahdaf never missed a day’s training and was a thorough professional throughout his career; his enthusiasm for his work, together with his outstanding physique and speed, should make him a very attractive prospect for breeders.”

John Gosden added: “Mostahdaf has always been a pleasure to train. Sound and always positive and generous in his work. His action is superb and fluent with a high cruising speed and electric acceleration. A horse who has been very consistent throughout his career.”

In other stallion news, Juddmonte have announced the Ralph Beckett-trained Irish Derby winner Westover has been sold and will stand at Yushun Stallion Station in Hokkaido, Japan for the 2024 season.

He will be syndicated, and a fee is yet to be determined.

Royal Ascot winner Bradsell has been scratched from the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

In a huge blow to connections the King’s Stand Stakes hero will not be taking his place in the field.

He had been seen in action on the Santa Anita track on Wednesday but overnight trainer Archie Watson informed Breeders’ Cup officials Bradsell would not be running.

In the absence of usual partner Hollie Doyle, who is suspended, he was due to be ridden by Luke Morris but unfortunately for those concerned Bradsell will be absent when the field lines up on Saturday.

European interest in the race now rests with Nunthorpe winner Live In The Dream and Aidan O’Brien’s Aesop’s Fables.

Gerri Colombe will have to wait an extra week to start out on the Cheltenham Gold Cup trail after Down Royal’s two-day meeting on Friday and Saturday was postponed by seven days to now take place on November 10 and November 11.

Gordon Elliott’s talented stayer is the second-favourite for Gold Cup glory following a fine novice chase campaign last term and was due to step into open company in the feature Ladbrokes Champion Chase, where rivals could have included established stars Conflated, Envoi Allen and Minella Indo.

However, with Down Royal currently unraceable, the decision has been made to shift the whole meeting back in the calendar with fresh entries for the meeting set to close on Monday and Tuesday.

Down Royal clerk Tracey O’Meara said: “We have just taken another look at the track and consulted with the River Agencies within the locality. The situation here is that we’ve been informed the River Lagan will continue to rise over the next 48 hours which will not enable the standing water on the course to subside.

“We were hoping for a more positive outcome when we started work on the track this morning to remove the water, but the situation with the River Lagan leaves us with no option but to make the difficult decision to cancel both Friday and Saturday as the track will simply not be ready in time.

“We were giving the meeting every chance but have made the decision at the earliest possible opportunity with the industry and public in mind. We are pleased to say that everyone is in a position to reschedule the fixtures for Friday 10 and Saturday 11 of November and the forecast into next week looks to be more favourable. Fresh entries will close on Monday for Friday and Tuesday for Saturday.”

Champion Stakes winner King Of Steel could be back in America next year for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Roger Varian has indicated.

There was a decision to be had this time around after the giant grey won on Champions Day at Ascot, with owner Kia Joorabchian admitting he was tempted by an ambitious bid for the dirt showpiece.

Discretion got the better part of valour on this occasion with only 14 days separating the meetings at Ascot and Santa Anita, and King Of Steel will contest the Breeders’ Cup Turf over 12 furlongs instead, meaning he will once more clash with his Derby conqueror Auguste Rodin.

“He looks to be taking everything in his stride. He has a positive demeanour of a horse that can go again. The natural instinct was not to come, but the vital signs are good,” said Varian.

“We left the decision to come as long as we could and he looked so good at home he was ticking plenty of boxes to make me think we should travel.

“It’s the type of race we are interested in, the Turf was always the priority. He found a way to win at Ascot, but I’m sure he didn’t enjoy the conditions.

“We could think about the Classic next season as he will stay in training.”

Greenfinch could be another exciting daughter of Justify having opened her account at Dundalk on Wednesday.

Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Greenfinch built on her Punchestown debut when second at the Curragh last month and her class came to the fore as she made it third-time lucky in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.

Sent off the 5-2 joint-favourite for the seven-furlong event, the youngster tracked the early pace in the hands of Seamie Heffernan before making a stylish move to the front rounding the turn for home.

She then knuckled down gamely in the straight and showed a great attitude to edge out Jessica Harrington’s Cameo Performance by a neck in the closing stages.

Connections were delighted to see the half-sister of both July Cup winner U S Navy Flag and multiple Group One scorer Roly Poly get on the scoresheet and are now predicting a bright future.

Stable representative Chris Armstrong said: “She’s a gorgeous filly and she has the pedigree to go with it.

“She had the two runs before on soft ground which wasn’t her ideal surface, but the experience stood to her.

“She was still a little bit green throughout the run, but Seamus felt her class got her through in the end.

“She is a filly to look forward to next year, he thinks she will definitely develop up into a Group filly at somewhere between a mile and a mile and a quarter.

“She will develop physically and mentally over the winter. She’s one to look forward to.

“It is good to get the win next to her and the three runs will be a massive plus to her next year.”

A significant offspring of Justify for Ballydoyle next year is unbeaten 2000 Guineas favourite City Of Troy, and Armstrong added: “The Justifys are extremely exciting – they have all got a great mind, a great action and they are 100 per cent genuine.

“They have big, long strides and, once they get their ground and trip, they really come into a different league.

“Luckily, we have got a few nice ones and it is an exciting bunch of two-year-olds to look forward to for next year.”

Sean Kirrane will forever be grateful for the loyalty shown by Adam West and the De’Lemos family as he prepares to make his Breeders’ Cup bow aboard Nunthorpe hero Live In The Dream.

The horse has proved appropriately named for the 23-year-old Irishman, who tasted Group One glory in his very first ride at the top level aboard the West-trained four-year-old on the Knavesmire.

That blistering all-the-way success secured Live In The Dream’s ticket to Santa Anita and Kirrane, who has partnered the gelding in 11 of his 19 career starts, is eager to point out it would have been easy for connections to plump for one of the weighing room’s star names for their once-in-a-lifetime tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

He said: “They would have had plenty of phone calls to ride this horse, even on the smaller days when he ran in the Temple Stakes and the race after that and the Nunthorpe. This particular day I’m sure they will have had plenty of phone calls, but their loyalty to me has been outstanding and I can’t thank them enough.

“Adam, Steve and Jolene have stuck by me and they have had me for plenty of days in the sun before the Nunthorpe and for them to give me my first ride in a Group One was amazing. I was so glad to reward them on the day for putting their faith in me.”

The 23-year-old Irishman is based in Yorkshire and a regular on the northern circuit, but has a flying visit to Epsom to thank for his long-lasting relationship with West and an association that has thrived from the very beginning.

“It’s probably an unusual match to have a northern-based jockey match-up with an Epsom and truly southern-based trainer and Adam was a completely chance contact,” continued Kirrane.

“I was claiming and riding for David O’Meara at the time and he had me down south two days in a row, he had me at Epsom one day, then Goodwood the next. I was staying over in Epsom and just thought ‘how can I use up the following morning’, so gave Adam a call to see if I could go ride out.

“He said ‘yes, pop in for a couple of lots’ and the first horse he put me on was a filly called Sky Blue Thinking. I’ll never forget her as she won three on the bounce and got me and Adam off to a flyer.

“We’ve had a really good strike-rate and great association ever since and now here we are.”

Their journey together came to a crescendo at York in the summer when Live In The Dream blazed a trail to give both trainer and jockey a first Group One triumph.

Connections always had the utmost belief that their sprinting star could one day climb to the top of the speedster’s ladder, but Live In The Dream’s underdog story has propelled a young rider fresh out of his claim and a trainer searching to make his name in the game firmly into the spotlight.

“He’s achieved things this year that none of us thought we might ever achieve,” continued Kirrane.

“We thought he had a lot of potential for maybe next year, but the fact he has achieved so much this year has been excellent and we owe the horse a lot.

“I don’t know how far I’ll get in my career but he’s a horse I will never forget. He’s given me a massive boost by winning the Nunthorpe so soon after losing my claim and it’s something a jockey in my position sort of never dreams.

“I have this horse and I knew he was capable of a lot, but it was so special to get a big winner on the board and then to have the opportunity to come here. I suppose we’ve already won this year regardless of what happens on Saturday, but to just be here with the horse while he is in such great form is excellent.”

He continued: “This is what we do Wolverhampton on a Monday and Catterick on Tuesday for. We do it to get the opportunities on the big days and the weekends. This is definitely one of those big days and whatever happens on Saturday, we all owe the horse an awful lot. For me it is not just a massive eye-opener but a brilliant experience.”

Since success in the Nunthorpe, West has left no stone unturned in his quest for Breeders’ Cup glory and that included sending both Live In The Dream and Kirrane to Keeneland to tune-up for their Santa Anita assignment in the Woodford Stakes.

Live In The Dream would eventually fade to fourth in the five-and-a-half-furlong contest but having shown up well, his rider is confident that first taste of American soil will have played a key role in preparing for his main objective.

“Keeneland was a nice race to start off his campaign in the States in,” said Kirrane.

“Adam picked that race out and being five and a half furlongs, ultimately that did stretch him really. There was quite a strong headwind on the day and he was really pressed for the lead the whole way round which wasn’t ideal and doing quite a bit early on just caught him out late in the day in the last half-furlong.

“He showed us everything we wanted to see on that day and it was really important to get him here and find a race on the grass for him really, which is exactly what Adam did. It really sets us up nicely for Saturday.

“Adam is a spectacular judge of what he has and what hand he has to play. It was the same when we went to Deauville, he knew he might need the run and that was exactly what happened – he was a fading fourth that day on very soft ground.

“He came out the next day and won the Nunthorpe and Adam was absolutely spot on in getting him right. He was spot on in predicting how he would run at Keeneland and hopefully he will be spot on about how he will run at Santa Anita.”

Kirrane has already had a taste of the Santa Anita turf when putting Live In The Dream through his paces ahead of this weekend’s big race.

The Dublin native is hoping to extend his stay in California beyond the Breeders’ Cup and is keen to make the most of his time in America, rather than jet back for the start of the all-weather season in the UK.

“I took Live In The Dream out for a canter and he just did a swinger from the three marker and he felt great,” he added.

“The turf was riding great – they sectioned off the outer half of the turf track for us to canter on – and he went round the bend lovely and it is all systems go.

“There are a couple of trainers I’ve been in contact with because I’m planning a little stint out here up until Christmas.

“I think at this time of year, the prize-money on the all-weather is extremely poor and you find yourself riding horses that have come off the grass and have had too much racing.

“Then you are getting all-weather horses returning who need the run and it is just a good opportunity for me to come out here, ride work off the clock again and tune up that aspect of my riding.”

Al Dancer is unlikely to defend his Boylesports Grand Sefton title at Aintree later this month, with Sam Thomas instead eyeing up a shot at the Trustatrader Peterborough Chase.

Having outbattled Gesskille to claim the Grand Sefton last season, he again showed his liking for the Merseyside venue when a staying-on third off a career-high mark in the Old Roan Chase – a race in which all the fences up the home straight were omitted.

The in-form 10-year-old, who kicked off his season with a commanding win at Chepstow, is as short as 7-1 in places to go back-to-back in the season’s first race over the National fences on November 11.

However, his handler believes the contest may come to soon for the thriving grey and is keen to wait an extra month for Grade Two action at Huntingdon on December 10.

“I was absolutely delighted with him and he put in another very solid run in what was a very competitive race I thought,” said Thomas.

“I don’t actually know if it helped or hindered him having the fences taken out, but it was just lovely to see him staying on again and run a really nice race off a career-high mark. We were absolutely thrilled.

“I think realistically the Grand Sefton will come a bit too soon. The reasoning behind going for the Old Roan was we felt he was in the form of his life and it is a very prestigious Grade Two race. We took our chance there and I would say it is fairly unlikely we will go to Aintree again now.

“Potentially the Peterborough maybe, going the other way round, will suit him. He does jump out a bit to his right and lugs a bit right so that would certainly help him. I think that might be on the calendar, providing he’s in good shape to go there.”

Thomas has made a blistering start to the winter with his string and another of his Chepstow scorers, Stolen Silver, is set to bypass another crack at Cheltenham’s Paddy Power Gold Cup in favour of remaining at three miles and a shot at Newbury’s Coral Gold Cup on December 2.

“We chucked him in the Paddy Power in case it was going to go absolutely bottomless there, but realistically the plan is to go to the Coral Gold Cup,” added Thomas.

“I think he certainly enjoyed himself over that trip and has a bit more to offer maybe. It certainly opens a few more doors for us and the fact he was a lot more settled in his race gives us a few more options really.

“You are dictated to what trip you can run a horse over by how they sort of conduct themselves in a race, but now he’s settling I think we have to step him up.”