dettori doubles up on rocks

Frankie Dettori became the first European jockey to ride a double on Breeders' Cup night as Red Rocks followed Ouija Board's earlier success when he produced a career-best performance in the Turf.

Brian Meehan's three-year-old had previously finished third behind Sixties Icon in the St Leger but he stepped up on that form as he dropped back to 12 furlongs.

Icy Atlantic set a fast pace with Rush Bay and Scorpion not far behind as Dettori settled towards the rear of the field on the Galileo colt

Hurricane Run was on the heels of the leaders half a mile from home but he quickly faded out of contention just as Red Rocks began to unleash his challenge.

Leading just inside the final furlong, Red Rocks (8-1) held the late surge of strong finisher Better Talk Now by half a length with English Channel in third.

Dettori said: "To win one is a miracle and two goes beyond that. I knew Ouija Board was best chance and I knew Red Rocks was going to run big but I didn't think I'd be this lucky.

"It feels surreal right now but I'm sure when I wake up tomorrow that I'll realise it's a special day."

Of Red Rocks, he added: "I've ridden him a few times and I've messed him up a few times. He seems to idle sometimes up front.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I expect a furious pace like today. I looked up and I said 'there's no way they can keep this up'.

"At the mile pole, I knew they'd fall in my lap. I took him wide outside and it was a matter of picking horses off one-by-one. The rest is history."

Meehan said: "It's a culmination of everyone's effort through the year coming to fruition and it's a marvellous feeling of achievement.

"We talked about this race after he ran second in the Great Voltigeur and now by winning the Breeders' Cup, he has proved himself to be the best turf horse in the world.

"I thought Frankie Dettori gave him a wonderful ride, giving him all the time he wanted."

Scorpion eventually faded into fifth and his rider Michael Kinane said: "He got in a little tight on the inside and without that he might have run a little bit better.

"It was a pretty good performance for just his second start in a year. You could see there was a lot of improvement there."

Christophe Soumillon felt last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Hurricane Run lacked his sparkle in finishing sixth.

He said: "He really likes a long stretch and when I asked him to kick it in, he did not really respond as he has in the past."