IT has undoubtedly been a good year for Ascot racecourse.

It’s been a rare phenomenon for the Royal Meeting to be lavished with praise by jumps fans, but the general consensus was that Ascot’s big meeting this year served up much more by way of entertainment than the annual March pilgrimage, which has suffered its PR setbacks in recent years due to rising prices on course and in the town, pushing many who would have stayed locally further afield.

Of more concern has been a perceived loss of high-octane entertainment, with many of the Grade 1 races farmed by big operations.

It’s not that Ascot caters for the little man, of course, but above ease of access and cost is the desire for compelling and competitive racing, and fans of the jumps game are getting restless as the expansion of Cheltenham has come at the cost of that competition.

Ascot’s Champions’ Day was in itself a bid by the BHA, Great British Racing and the track itself to produce a grandstand day of racing, which was in the mould of Cheltenham, so that the season could finish with a bang, rather than a whimper and, while it has taken time to win hardline fans around, it won’t take too many more days like Saturday to silence the remaining begrudgers.

Enormous luck

In truth, the success or failure of any clever marketing venture owes an enormous amount to luck, because it is what the horses do on the day that counts, not how glamorous the occasion is, or even how prestigious the prizes.

The ‘right’ horses haven’t always won at Ascot in October, with a long season and prevailing soft ground tending to see some of the stars of the season run as flat as proverbial pancakes.

That can spoil the narrative a little, and punters and habitual racegoers like to see their favourites win.

Not THE favourites, necessarily, but if you’ve invested in the entire season, and followed a horse who won on the opening day, then it’s enormously satisfying to see that horse running well on the last day.

It gives a sense of satisfaction and one of closure – almost as if the campaign had a narrative thread which brought it all together.

That narrative has been missing or damaged too often in the past, but thanks to Kyprios (season debut in April, with further wins in May, June, July, September and October), Kind Of Blue (racecourse debut in April with runs in every subsequent month culminating in a thrilling first Group 1), Kalpana (winning debut in January followed by seven further runs, which also saw her break through at Group 1 level on the final day), Charyn (winner on the opening day of the turf campaign and gaining his third Group 1 on the final day of the official season), Champions’ Day could not have delivered more handsomely on its KPI’s if Rod Street was allowed to fix the races himself (he wasn’t – I asked).

Gaining popularity

Kalpana and Kind Of Blue deserve praise for simultaneously meeting the criteria as both underdogs and favourites, the pair gaining popularity with good runs in defeat before rising to the top, while few except the loyal followers would have put the hugely likeable Charyn forward as champion miler material before - or even after - he ended a losing run in listed company at Doncaster in March.

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner

Charyn was a winner on the opening day of the turf campaign \ Healy Racing

Aidan O’Brien needs no cue to remind us that it’s a miracle Kyprios is running at all, never mind writing his own chapter in racing history, and it’s hard to escape the conclusion that we were especially blessed last weekend.

And what of the Champion Stakes shock? Well, it wouldn’t be right if every single result on a big day made sense, so the 40/1 win of Anmaat reassured those of us enjoying the day that this wasn’t a waking dream, but just a bloody good day at the races.

Even last-race winner Carrytheone had built up a small army of followers, who made him a cliff horse after a series of big meeting defeats, where he caught the eye finishing best from off the pace. He finally got the pace collapse his disciples have been praying for in the Balmoral to cap the – almost – perfect day.

Mr Street and his friends will be indulging in a bit of well-earned back-slapping after an excellent day, which promised much and delivered more than could have been hoped for.

The key now is trying to replicate this in the future.

It cannot be taken for granted that almost all the races on the card were won by openly and honestly campaigned horses, and that really is what those who love the sport like to see, whether they have backed those winners or not.

It’s very unusual for the roll-call of winners on any single race day to have been so familiar to the race-going public.

To have a repeat would almost be asking for miracles, but it makes sense to look at the programme, particularly in the weeks and months before the Newmarket Guineas meeting and ask if anything can be done to maximise the chances of other horses charting a similar path, or just to find the best incentive to get high-class horses running regularly through the whole year.

That’s not intended as a criticism of the current state of affairs, and the way both Kalpana and Kind Of Blue rose to the top without needing to be overfaced shows that it can be done; it’s not a case of fixing what’s not broken, but more a case of cherishing the unorthodox.

Once again, it must be reiterated that the horses are first and foremost in racing, and the sport needs to help nurture and then showcase its future stars more than it needs any glitz and glamour to attract an audience.

If it takes a village to raise a child, then it also requires the whole racing village to raise a popular champion.

Breeders, owners, trainers, racecourses, racegoers, racing media, even those nasty bookmakers have their part to play in that story.

As Messrs Balding, Fanshawe and Varian showed us on Saturday, there is no correct way to produce a champion racehorse, and a programme of racing which allows the many different routes to converge at the opportune time is the Holy Grail for those looking to market the sport and ensure its future health.

I wish those seeking that grail the very best in their endeavours.