Major stakes on three continents on Saturday and Sunday offered automatic berths to Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita in November, but it was uncertain whether two of the winners would travel to the United States this fall.

Orfevre, the winner of the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown, won for the first time in three starts as a 4-year-old in Sunday’s Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse. At Saint-Cloud racecourse in Paris, Meandre pulled an upset against three rivals in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.

Black Caviar remained undefeated winning the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday, closing day at Royal Ascot. Of that there can be no dispute. The devil is in the details, though, and the way in which Black Caviar won for the 22^nd time in her career should lend itself to international racing chatter for weeks, if not longer.

Black Caviar’s winning margin, a nose, was the shortest in her career, and just the second time a horse has been within one length of her at the finish, but jockey Luke Nolen must shoulder some of the blame for the race's closeness.

Nearly a year of frustrating results ended emphatically on Friday when Fallen for You won her first stakes in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Royal Ascot.

Fallen for You finished 3 1/4 lengths in front of Starscope, giving trainer John Gosden a sweep of the first two positions in the one-mile race.

By Dansili, and owned by breeder Normandie Stud, Fallen for You won for the third time in her six-race career, fulfilling expectations that Gosden had in 2011. He blamed himself for her fifth-place finish as the

Orfevre, the winner of the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown, is finding racing more difficult as a 4-year-old this year. Winless in his first two starts of the season, Orfevre is part of Sunday’s $3.4 million Takarazuka Kinen over about 1 3/8 miles on turf at Hanshin Racecourse.

Once again, he faces a formidable list of rivals. This time, there is more at stakes than the winner’s share of approximately $1.65 million. The winner receives an automatic berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 3.

Frankel held up his end of the bargain, delivering a sensational win in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes on opening day of the Royal Ascot meet. Now it is Black Caviar’s turn, as the second international racing superstar to grace the Ascot meeting takes to the track in the closing-day Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday.

The 10th Group 1 stakes win by So You Think in Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot was part of a family day for trainer Aidan O’Brien.

His son Joseph won his first career race at Royal Ascot aboard So You Think, who won by 2 1/4 lengths as the 4-5 favorite, defeating Carlton House, owned by the Queen of England.

Earlier on the six-race program, Aidan O’Brien won the Group 3 Jersey Stakes with the 20-1 shot Ishvana, owned by his wife, Ann Marie.

The Group 1 Gold Cup, a 2 1/2-mile race, headlines Thursday’s action at Royal Ascot, with Fame and Glory widely expected to win for the second year in a row.

Fame and Glory, a 14-time winner trained by Aidan O’Brien, won the 2011 Gold Cup by three lengths over return rival Opinion Poll and had a useful prep race winning a listed stakes May 20 at Navan.

The Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes matches Shirocco Star, The Fugue, and Twirl, respectively the two-three-four finishers from the Group 1 Epsom Oaks.

Imagine the New York Yankees playing a semi-pro team from rural Wisconsin, and you will get an idea what Frankel is doing to the other milers who have dared face him in England.

So You Think, the 6-year-old New Zealand-bred horse, has won nine Group 1 races in his career in locations as diverse as Australia, England, and Ireland.

Later this year, So You Think will begin stud duty in Australia. Until then, he has time to add to his record. On Wednesday, he will be a heavy favorite to win the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes over 1 1/4 miles on turf at Royal Ascot.

Trained by Aidan O’Brien, So You Think has padded his record this year, with a six-length win in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh in May.

Frankel on one end, Black Caviar on the other: As far as bookends go, the Royal Ascot meeting has done pretty well by itself.