Roderic O’Connor led virtually throughout to land the Group 1, $348,000 Criterium at Saint-Cloud on Sunday, a performance that boosted the outstanding form of the Dewhurst Stakes, in which the Aidan O’Brien-trained son of Galileo had finished second to Frankel.

Buena Vista ran “her best race ever,” according to trainer Hiroyoshi Matsuda, as she walloped 17 rivals to win the $3.1 million Autumn Tenno Sho, or Emperor’s Cup, at Tokyo on Sunday. Sunday Racing Co.’s 4-year-old filly scored her fifth career Grade 1 victory as she rallied from midpack to defeat Pelusa by a decisive two lengths, getting the 1 1/4 miles on a firm turf course in a very quick 1:58.20 as the 6-5 favorite.

“She is a superstar,” said rider Christophe Soumillon, who flew in from France especially for the assignment. “It was as if she had wings on her back.”

The 150th running of the Melbourne Cup Handicap at Flemington on Tuesday will have a rare American angle as Americain, now trained in France by Alain de Royer-Dupre after a brief, unsuccessful stint with Todd Pletcher, will start as one of the favorites in what has become the world’s second richest horse race at $6.04 million.

Andre Fabre and Aidan O’Brien have each won two of the last five runnings of Saint-Cloud’s $348,000, Group 1 Criterium International. Sunday’s renewal could be the icebreaker as they will saddle the two favorites for the one-mile juvenile test, Fabre with Godolphin’s undefeated French Navy, O’Brien with Roderic O’Connor, the game runner-up to Frankel in the Dewhurst Stakes.

Ave, winner of the Flower Bowl Invitational, is headed to Japan for the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup at Kyoto on Nov. 14, when she will run into the winner of this year’s English and Irish Oaks, Snow Fairy.

Trained by Roger Attfield, Ave is a 4-year-old daughter of Danehill Dancer and a Group 3 winner in Ireland when trained in England by Michael Stoute. Since joining Attfield this winter, she has been placed in Pimlico’s Galorette Handicap, Belmont’s New York Stakes, and Woodbine’s Dance Smartly Stakes, in which she was nosed on the line by Mekong Melody.

Buena Vista, the ultra-consistent 4-year-old daughter of Special Week who was an unlucky second to Dar Re Mi in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March, heads a competitive field of 18 at Tokyo on Sunday in the $3.1 million, 1 1/4-mile Autumn Tenno Sho, or Emperor’s Cup, one of Japan’s most coveted races.

Paddy Mullins, the trainer of the legendary Dawn Run, widely regarded as the greatest jumping mare in history, died at the age of 91 on Thursday in Ireland.

For 52 years Mullins was one of the leading figures in Irish racing, training top-class winners on both the flat and over jumps.

In Dawn Run he produced the only horse to win both the Champion Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Unfortunately, she died at Auteuil Racecourse in Paris in attempting to add the Grand Course de Haies d’Auteuil, or French Champion Hurdle, to her list of accomplishments.

The Emirates Racing Authority, the ruling body of racing in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, announced Wednesday that it has upgraded 10 of its races for the 2011 winter season. All but one of the races are run at Meydan Racecourse.

Most prominent among the promotions is the Al Quoz Sprint, which is now a Group 2. Two weeks ago its was announced that thre race,the most recent addition to Dubai World Cup Night, had been cut from six furlongs to five furlongs on the Meydan turf course.

Casamento, the 2-1 favorite, was an impressive winner of the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, he powered to a three-quarter-length victory over the Aidan O'Brien-trained Seville. For Casamento's trainer, Michael Halford, it was his first Group 1 success.

Master of Hounds, a further two lengths away in third was also from O'Brien's Ballydoyle yard, giving Ireland a clean sweep in this the final Group 1 in England this season.

International Racing Bureau

It looks as though the Irish angle will be crucial in Saturday’s Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster, the final Group 1 event of the British season.

The mile event for 2-year-old colts and fillies has attracted 10 runners, with the Irish-trained pair of Casamento and Dunboyne Express looking the strongest.