Michael Stoute’s St Leger winner Conduit stole the show in the €3.7m Turf by charging down the straight to deny Mick De Kock’s Eagle Mountain after he had looked to have robbed Aidan O’Brien’s big favourite Soldier Of Fortune.

Conduit had stayed 10 lengths off the pace set by O’Brien’s Red Rocks Canyon with stablemate Soldier Of Fortune and Bobby Frankel’s Out of Control paying close attention, being tracked menacingly by Eagle Mountain and 2006 winner Red Rocks.

As they reached the turn for home, Soldier of Fortune took it up with Out of Control but Eagle Mountain, piloted by Kevin Shea, quickly joined them and was in pole position before Ryan Moore steamed past in the closing stages for a length and a half victory.

Peter Reynolds, general manager for Conduit’s owners Ballymacoll Stud, said: “We won with Islington five years ago here, also on October 25 and this is a wonderful thrill for us.

“This horse was going to be retired for the season after the Leger but Michael said he was so well that it was worth spending the money to run him here.”

Moore added: “I rode him to make the best use of his proven stamina and when he picked up he really flew. After the Derby this is the best race to win for me.”

John Gosden’s gelding Donativum, with Frankie Dettori on board, had been locked in a battle royal down the home straight of the Juvenile Turf with O’Brien’s race favourite Westphalia, ridden by Johnny Murtagh.

Westphalia looked to have done enough after hitting the front inside the final furlong but Dettori got an extra kick out Donativum to win by half a length in a European one-two.

Gosden said: “He’s top drawer in a sense, the second horse (Westphalia) is a very nice horse, won a Group Two, the Champagne, so he’s a pretty smart horse.

“The horse we beat at Newmarket the other day (Crowded House) won a Group One by three lengths today (Racing Post Trophy) and that will probably be Derby favourite in England now so you are talking top form.

“You can’t go hunting with a pop gun in these races and so he’s a proper horse and he’s done well.”

Goldikova, Freddie Head’s 9-4 favourite, ran a perfectly executed race to see off defending Mile champion Kip Deville, turning in an electrifying finish under Olivier Peslier to make Head the first man to win a Breeders’ Cup both as a jockey and a trainer following the mighty Miesque.

Daytona had upped the ante with an early kick on the final turn but Goldikova, heavily-backed all week, surged along the rail with a stunning burst of speed that left the field in her wake.

Head said after the length-and-a-quarter win: “I think she’s as good as Miesque, she’s in the same league. She was more backward but now today she is at the top of the charts. She will run in France (next year) and if all goes well we will come back here.”

On riding and training a Breeders’ Cup winner, Head added: “It’s something you can’t imagine. All I can say is that life’s been good to me.”

Kip Deville mustered the best response but it was too late to catch the French-trained three-year-old who recorded a one-and-a-quarter length victory. Whatsthescript got up for third but O’Brien’s US Ranger never figured.

After a winless opening day here on ’Filly Friday’, Muhannak, with Pat Smullen aboard, scored the first European victory of the 2008 Breeders’ Cup in the opening Marathon over a mile and a half, holding off a fast-finishing Church Service by a head in a photo finish.

The four-year-old gelding was making just his third start for Ralph Beckett and capped a fairytale year in which the Whitsbury trainer landed the Epsom Oaks with Look Here.

“With all due respect to the Americans, only winning the Derby would be better than winning the Oaks but this comes a very, very good second and it has capped an amazing year – a year which I couldn’t have dreamt of,” Beckett said.

While Muhannak breezed off the back turn to hit the front, Jeremy Noseda’s heavily-backed favourite Sixties Icon failed to find a way out of traffic in mid-division off the turn for home under Dettori.

The five-year-old finished strongly but too late to make up lost ground with Mike Mitchell’s Big Booster holding off stablemate Delightful Kiss for third, with Sixties Icon fifth.

There was more disappointment for Dettori in the Turf Sprint when Godolphin’s Diabolical was caught on the line by 40-1 outsider Desert Code.

Diabolical had hit the front heading into the straight and looked set fair for victory only for Richard Migliore to pull out a storming finish on the outside from Desert Code who got up by half a length.

Noseda’s Fleeting Spirit, the 5-1 joint-favourite under Murtagh, had looked to be making a big run on the rail but had to settle for fifth with Andre Fabre’s Only Answer last of the 14 runners.

Albertus Maximus staged an upset in the Dirt Mile as heavy favourite Well Armed disappointed on his home track.

Garrett Gomez steered the Vladimir Cerin-trained four-year-old home with an outside run to deny the chasing Rebellion, a former charge of Mark Johnston, with Two Step Salsa third as Eoin Harty’s Well Armed failed to respond under Aaron Gryder.

Charles O’Brien’s Lord Admiral, with Murtagh on board, ran into trouble and was never in the reckoning.

Bob Baffert landed the sixth Breeders’ Cup win of his career and Gomez his second of the day when Midshipman made all the running in the Juvenile to hold off John Best’s recently exported Square Eddie.

Coolmore’s Bushranger, trained by David Wachman, could not make an impact.

Baffert struck again in the six-furlong Sprint with Midnight Lute as Gomez scored his hat-trick for the day as the five-year-old came off the back of the field like a slingshot to power past Fatal Bullet inside the final furlong for a length and three-quarter win in defence of his title.