Linda's Lad justified his odds-on favoritism Saturday in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, the last Group 1 race of the European season, but he had to work for it.

Air Messiah, the winner of two graded stakes since being narrowly beaten by Cesario in the Japanese Oaks on May 22, will test Japan's best older fillies and mares at Kyoto on Sunday in the Grade 1 . Victories over Rhein Kraft this fall in both the Shuka Sho and the Roses Stakes could earn Air Messiah the favorite's role in this $1.65 million contest.

Joyeux Danseur, winner of the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in 1998 and the sire of 65 winners, died Tuesday from a ruptured cecum at Wattle Brae Stud in Australia. A 12-year-old son of Nureyev out of the Le Fabuleux mare Fabuleux Jane, Joyeux Danseur served three seasons at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky before moving to California and then Arkansas, after which he was sent to Australia in 2004.

The winner of 8 of 14 lifetime starts for earnings of $645,228, Joyeux Danseur also included the Fair Grounds 1 1/8-mile Grade 3 Explosive Bid Handicap among his victories.

Linda's Lad will be a short-priced favorite for the final Group 1 race of the year in Europe on Saturday when he tackles the 1 1/4 miles of the $235,000 Criterium de Saint-Cloud.

Soft to heavy ground is expected at Saint-Cloud for this test of juvenile stamina. In Linda's Lad, Andre Fabre will saddle the winner of the 1 1/8-mile Group 3 Prix de Conde. A 2-year-old son of Sadler's Wells, he finished second in the Group 3 Prix des Chenes to stablemate Carlotamix, the subsequent winner of the Group 1 Criterium International.

NEW YORK - The exploits of three Thoroughbreds whose stamina propelled them to championship status were brought to the fore this past month even as Makybe Diva, Westerner, and Best Mate all bid farewell to the racecourse.

In the "race that stops a nation," Makybe Diva stopped Australia and 23 rivals cold as she scored an unprecedented third consecutive triumph in the $3.8 million Melbourne Cup Handicap at Flemington on Tuesday.

In the "race that stops a nation," Makybe Diva stopped Australia and 23 rivals cold as she scored an unprecedented third consecutive triumph in the $3.8 million Melbourne Cup Handicap at Flemington on Tuesday.

Jockey Christophe Soumillon and trainer Andre Fabre, fresh from their Breeders' Cup Turf triumph on Saturday with Shirocco, returned to France on Sunday to engineer the Group 1 victory of Carlotamix in Saint-Cloud's Criterium International.

Winning for the third time in three starts, the 2-year-old Carlotamix took the one-mile, $300,000 race by three widening lengths from Stormy River as the 4-5 favorite. Soumillon brought Carlotamix from fifth place with a confident ride, fully aware that he was on the best horse in the six-runner field. The time on soft ground was 1:45.40.

The 75-1 Heavenly Romance denied Zenno Rob Roy a second successive victory in the Grade 1, $2,220,000 Autumn Tenno Sho at Tokyo on Sunday as she outdueled the defending champ by a head.

As in last week's Japanese St. Leger, the first three across the line were all sons or daughters of Sunday Silence, as Dance in the Mood, the runner-up in last year's American Oaks, returned to form to finish third, just a neck behind Zenno Rob Roy, the 6-5 favorite in the 18-runner field.

The time for the 1 1/4 miles on firm ground was 2:00.10.

Carlotamix can redeem the reputation of what has thus far appeared to be a subpar crop of French 2-year-old colts if he can prevail over five rivals in the Group 1, $303,000 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud on Sunday.

Trained by Andre Fabre, Carlotamix made his record 2 for 2 on Sept. 17 in the Group 3 Prix des Chenes at Longchamp over the International distance of one mile, beating stablemate and subsequent Group 3 Prix de Conde winner Linda's Lad.