On the day ‘The Professor’ Roy Higgins left the world, Super Saturday lived up to the billing with a fantastic display of racing at both Flemington in Melbourne and Warwick Farm in Sydney. And here is a super-sized review of the action.

It’s premature to call Fiorente the best
The Australian Cup (2000m, Group 1, weight-for-age) at Flemington brought together the last two Melbourne Cup (3200m, Group 1, handicap) winners in Fiorente and Green Moon, the reigning Cox Plate (2040m, Group 1, weight-for-age) champion Shamus Award as well as the reigning winners of the Makybe Diva (1600m, Group 1, weight-for-age), Irish St Leger (2800m, Group 1, weight-for-age) and Sydney Cup (3200m, Group 1, handicap) in Foreteller, Voleuse De Coeurs and Mourayan respectively.

Over at Warwick Farm, the Chipping Norton (1600m, Group 1, weight-for-age) boasted five-time Group 1 winner and last season’s three-year-old Triple Crown champion It’s A Dundeel, the Epsom (1600m, Group 1, handicap) and Emirates (1600m, Group 1, handicap) winner Boban as well as Hawkspur, who won last year’s Queensland Derby (2400m, Group 1, three-year-olds).

Every horse I’ve mentioned in the previous two paragraphs – the cream of Australian middle-distance racing – has their autumn aim waiting in front them.

The only exception is Shamus Award who already won his Grand Final, the Australian Guineas (1600m, Group 1, three-year-olds) last Saturday.

Among the group of middle-distance horses is arguably the best horse in the country.

But to call Saturday’s Australian Cup winner Fiorente ‘the best’ just because he won the Australian Cup, as plenty of people have done since his win on Saturday, is perhaps quite literally ‘going before acceptances’.

In a restructured autumn where the big prize is the $4m Queen Elizabeth (2000m, Group 1, weight-for-age), ‘the best’ will be decided at Randwick during The Championships in April.

In the QE Stakes we’ll see It’s A Dundeel, Fiorente, Boban, Green Moon, Shamus Award, Hawkspur and Foreteller clash. From that race, perhaps ‘the best’ will emerge.

But I’m sure whoever wins the $2.5m TJ Smith (1200m, Group 1, weight-for-age) on April 12 – whether it be Zoustar, Not Listenin’tome, emphatic Newmarket Handicap (1200m, Group 1) winner Lankan Rupee, Buffering or anyone else – will deserve a say in any conversation about ‘the best’.

Say what you want about The Championships lacking an international feel, but at least it will bring together the best two-dozen horses in active training in Australia.

Not even Cup week at Flemington does that. The best part is that Australian racing is in need of a championship event this autumn because the pecking order, certainly in my opinion, needs a lot of sorting.

Australian Cup – Oliver the difference, once again proving he is the best Group 1 jockey in Australia
There’s little doubt that Damien Oliver’s brilliant ride won Fiorente the Australian Cup. Without the champion jock sitting on his back, Fiorente may not have won Saturday’s Australian Cup.

It is fitting on the day Roy Higgins died that Damien Oliver won the big race. From everything I’ve heard and read about Higgins, and the champion he was, Oliver has the same qualities.

I suspect those who have seen both Higgins and Oliver ride would rate ‘The Professor’ superior.

But when Oliver retires we’ll tell those younger than us, that in Oliver, there was a jockey who almost never rode poorly in a big race, regardless of the circumstances – have a look at the 2002 Melbourne Cup or 2012 Emirates Stakes as examples of Oliver riding brilliantly under immense personal pressure.

‘Oli’ is a jockey who, as the cliché goes, rises to the occasion.

When Fiorente missed the start on Saturday he was effectively placed out of the tactical battle, and in weight-for-age racing that is a significant disadvantage. After all, tactical and strategic moves decide so many weight-for-age races.

Shamus Award, the three-year-old and second favourite behind Fiorente, got an uncontested lead and the pace was slow.

At the 1000m mark, Oliver had to make a tactical decision. Does he move early on the Melbourne Cup winner knowing that Fiorente has the stamina required to make a long run? Or does he wait and hope he can reel in the leaders down the straight?

The decision to wait was a masterstroke from Oliver. Under pressure, sitting second last on the favourite in the Australian Cup, he didn’t panic.

And he would’ve been grinning at the 600m mark when the field bunched and he was within two lengths of the lead with a full tank of petrol to call upon.

Fiorente was in the same position he found himself in the Melbourne Cup with three furlongs to go – if he sprints as well as everyone knows he can, then he wins the big race.

Oliver, once again, had done a great job. And Fiorente, as usual, brought his A-game to the races. Oliver and Fiorente are a fantastic match because it is their consistency at the top level that defines them best.

Oliver was lauded for his Cup ride and this one was every bit as good.

Fiorente unwound down the centre of the Flemington straight and raced to the lead at the 100m mark. But just like in November, an old foe provided good nuisance value.

In the Melbourne Cup it was Red Cadeaux, a horse Fiorente had met many times in England, who made the imported galloper earn his famous victory.

In the Australian Cup it was Green Moon – the horse who denied Fiorente the 2012 Melbourne Cup – that had Fiorente stretching all the way to the wire on Saturday.

If Oliver had made an early move on Fiorente, the race would’ve been completely different. Fiorente would’ve been a sitting duck at the 100m mark and Foreteller, who was brilliant in a closing third, probably would’ve won the race.

The sectional times show that the last furlong was one of the slowest furlongs in the race. If Oliver thought the Australian Cup was going to be a bit of a slog home, then he was absolutely correct.

In any case, his decision to keep Fiorente quiet until the straight was a key-determining factor in the result of a closely-fought Australian Cup.

Australian Cup – Why did Shamus Award fail?
At the 200m mark, every horse in the Australian Cup was capable (in the sense that they were close to the leaders) of having a high finish.

The last furlong was to be telling. And to be honest, it’s hard to enjoy a race (unless there’s a bet involved) if the last furlong’s narrative is a bit boring.

But there was nothing boring in the Australian Cup from the clock-tower to home. Fiorente’s last furlong was five lengths slower than his penultimate furlong.

The reason the long-time leader Shamus Award ran sixth was because his last furlong was a whopping eight lengths slower than his 400-200m split. The big unanswered question for the Shamus Award camp is whether he tired because 2000m was too far, or because the seven-day back-up was too much for the dual Group 1 winner.

It’s a difficult question to answer because Shamus Award had only won positive headlines in each of his previous four races at 1600m and beyond.

Perhaps Shamus Award is just a miler, but I’d want to have another look at him at 2000m this autumn before coming to that conclusion.

Australian Cup – The beaten brigade
Green Moon in second wound back the clock to the 2012 spring with a brilliant effort in defeat. He parked outside the lead and was the last of the leaders standing when Fiorente eventually put paid to the former Melbourne Cup winner in the last 100m.

Green Moon is on track for Sydney and I hope Lloyd Williams – who is known as a bit of a Sydney autumn hater – brings Green Moon up the Hume Highway so we can see the rising eight-year-old in Sydney for the first time.

Thankfully, I think Green Moon was already booked for a float trip before his Australian Cup run. He will be a massive player in the BMW (2400m, Group 1, weight-for-age).

Foreteller in third was fantastic. He was winding up all the way down the straight and eventually got within a length of Fiorente – as he did in the Cox Plate – at the finish.

The beauty of Foreteller is his consistency as well as his ability to run a rock-solid 2000m. The Queen Elizabeth looks like the perfect race for him and if all happened to fall into place, he could cause an upset.

But really, would it be a big surprise?

In fourth was Mourayan, who ran the most peculiar race. He sat just behind the speed in a perfect spot before being out-sprinted in the straight. In the last furlong, when everyone was slowing down, Mourayan began to make inroads again and charged into fourth.

Like his stablemate Green Moon (and of course Fiorente as well), Mourayan is going to be hard to beat in the BMW because 2400m is going to suit him better.

I’d like to see Mourayan race in the lead and set a fast tempo in the BMW. If he did, he could prove hard to get past, plus a fast pace in the BMW should set up a memorable finish.

Even though Mourayan has been around for what seems like an age, I don’t think he’s raced in this sort of form since the spring of 2011, when I actually tipped him to win the Melbourne Cup.

He was scratched on Cup morning but would’ve run a big race in my opinion. Like Foreteller, we shouldn’t be surprised if he happens to take a big race this autumn.

Forget the name and the stigma that comes with it, Mourayan is racing in hot form.

Of the rest, Voleuse De Coeurs was good in fifth. Her best form is over a real staying trip, so she looks right on track for the Sydney Cup. Whether she’s fast enough to win the BMW in the meantime, is a big question but I guess it is possible.

Thunder Fantasy, who was third behind Shamus Award last week in the Australian Guineas, was poor in eighth. The last time he raced on a seven-day break, he was ninth in the Spring Champion (2000m, Group 1, three-year-olds).

Then the next time we saw him, in the much stronger Derby (2500m, Group 1, three-year-olds), he was lengths better in a fantastic third.

I’m going to forgive Thunder Fantasy his Australian Cup failure and assess him with a fresh mind in the Rosehill Guineas (2000m, Group 1, three-year-olds) in three weeks.

I doubt we’ll ever see Thunder Fantasy on the quick back-up ever again.

Chipping Norton – Boban back to his best
There are plenty of different reasons why people think Boban finally fired in the Chipping Norton.

And it was a big return to form. In each of his two runs this autumn, Boban was struggling to get past gallopers inferior in ability to himself.

Yet on Saturday, he blew away It’s A Dundeel in a manner that would have won respect from the likes of Atlantic Jewel, Super Cool and Reliable Man.

Of course, Atlantic Jewel, Super Cool and Reliable Man are the only other horses – Cox Plate and Victoria Derby failures aside – to have given It’s A Dundeel a real beating.

Even when It’s A Dundeel has been beaten first-up in the past he has attacked the line better than most horses in the race. But it wasn’t the case on Saturday.

In any event, some people put Boban’s return to form down to Glyn Schofield’s return to the saddle, others have pointed to the soft run Boban enjoyed.

Chris Waller said he wanted to train the freshness out of Boban and with Boban settling a lot better on Saturday, perhaps that’s the reason he fired.

Then there were some real smarties who tipped Boban on form. They thought Boban was good in each of his two runs this preparation and could win by showing the natural improvement you’d expect to see from Boban third-up.

Whatever the reason, Boban landed the biggest shot of his career in the Chipping Norton and, in my opinion, was the most impressive victor anywhere in Australia on Saturday (although Lankan Rupee may want to say something about that).

Boban, the horse with the best turn of foot in the country (sprinters aside), blew away his rivals at weight-for-age. At the third time of asking, Boban finally graduated successfully to weight-for-age racing.

And in reality it was a very soft win.

Boban’s turn of foot put It’s A Dundeel away in 50m. Schofield had the race in his keeping so far out from the winning post that he had time to point to the crowd in the run down to the line.

I don’t think Schoey was signalling out me, but he could’ve been. I was just one of many people who were ready to write Boban’s autumn off with a failure on Saturday.

It certainly felt like he was pointing at me when he raised his arm to the crowd!

I’m glad we got to see the best of Boban. It’s a fantastic sight.

He’ll now head to the George Ryder (1500m, Group 1, weight-for-age) which will be his QE Stakes lead-in. Waller has already ruled out a start in the Doncaster (1600m, Group 1, handicap) – 56.5kgs an impost too much for Boban.

Chipping Norton – Hawkspur’s run puts It’s A Dundeel under the spotlight
I thought Hawkspur in third was fantastic. He was ridden very cold by Jim Cassidy and charged through the wire to grab third. In another 50m he would’ve had It’s A Dundeel covered.

And that raises two things – first, it’s easy to forget how good Hawkspur was in the spring.

Remember, in the Turnbull (2000m, Group 1, set weights and penalties), when he was just as good as Fiorente! They carried the same weight that day and ran massive races to finish just behind third. I don’t think there is a lot between Hawkspur and Fiorente at 2000m.

Perhaps the reason Hawkspur’s spring derailed at the business end was because he wasn’t as effective over longer ground in the Cups. The Queen Elizabeth should suit Hawkspur perfectly and he looks a great each-way bet at $26 with the TAB.

The second thing it raises was the disappointing run of It’s A Dundeel. Now, history says It’s A Dundeel is much better second-up and that shouldn’t be forgotten.

But to further prove just how even our middle-distance horses are, the most decorated horse in the country was clearly beaten in what many thought was a very winnable race. This is a very even weight-for-age group.

I think jockey James McDonald would like his time over again with his Chipping Norton ride on It’s A Dundeel.

He made an early move on It’s A Dundeel before the turn and thus gave Boban a cart into the race. With Boban in full pomp, to use a Kerry O’Keefe-ism, it turned out to be a horrible move.

It’s A Dundeel doesn’t have the turn of foot to hold out an in-form Boban within striking distance (in fact, not many horses do), and so it proved.

But the most interesting part of the race came in the last 50m when Hawkspur was finishing all over the top of It’s A Dundeel.

Again, It’s A Dundeel was first-up, but all these horses are heading to the same race – the QE Stakes. We know the Melbourne form, headlined by Fiorente, Green Moon and Foreteller, is outstanding. It’s A Dundeel has plenty of ground to make up in the next six weeks.

And perhaps the most interesting part of the whole story is that the stable, and McDonald, were reporting the horse to be in better shape than ever in the lead-up to Saturday.

The Ranvet (2000m, Group 1, weight-for-age) – against a quasi-Queen Elizabeth field, hopefully including Fiorente – is going to make very interesting viewing in a fortnight.

In summary, the talking points discussed today wouldn’t be so interesting without the $4m Queen Elizabeth lying ahead in the future.

I’ve always maintained Australian racing would be strong enough to be make The Championships a raging success without any international help or participation. We are already seeing that unfold.

The weather is beginning to get cooler and the leaves are starting to fall off trees, but doesn’t it feel a lot like spring?