"I was very glad to have got her onto the track," said trainer James Fanshawe yesterday, "as she had not had the ideal preparation. She was one of last term's genuine stars and, after she hurt a leg in her final outing and then suffered respiratory infections in the spring, if there is any natural justice her fourth season will be a success.The daughter of Marju opened her campaign with a defeat against two of today's rivals, Peeress and Sundrop, at Royal Ascot at York 20 days ago. Last year's inaugural Group One running proved thoroughly worthy of the upgrade, providing an epic encounter between four-year-old Soviet Song, who won, and three-year-old Attraction, who lost her unbeaten record.And although the last-named has not made the rematch, Soviet Song, who went on 12 months ago to become only the seventh filly to beat colts in the Sussex Stakes in half a century, will be defending her crown. Records broke last year when four hurricanes in succession pounded Florida, causing $45bn (£25.5bn) worth of damage. Distaffers now have their own series of inter-generation Group contests as an incentive over and above having a pop at the boys. At the top level, as well as the Yorkshire Oaks and Nassau Stakes, there are the Pretty Polly, Matron and Sun Chariot Stakes, the Prix d'Astarte, Vermeille and Opera, the Premio Lydia Tesio and, the first of the domestic season, today's Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket. But one of this sport's recent successful innovations, and one that deserves the highest praise, is the development of a programme to encourage the keeping in training of the best fillies and mares beyond their three-year-old careers.
It is to reassure emerging economies the rich West does not wish to hamper their growth but can assist them in growing cleanly. This could be done by helping them to design power stations with the technology to reduce CO2. But power stations, once built, last for up to 50 years, so this agreement is not only essential; it is essential soon.. Just as on the golf course, so it is in racing. In ?te company only an exceptional female can challenge the males and in the horse world, even with the advantage of playing off the red tees, so to speak, not many do. That is why Mr Blair's attempt at Gleneagles to start a climate change partnership with the developing world, or at least initiate a dialogue, is vital Mr Blair thinks he sees a way forward. By 2030, in the absence of action to cut back, emissions will have grown by 62 per cent, more than half of this from the developing world.
Tony Blair's own aim to cut emissions from present levels by 60 per cent by 2050, in the hope of stabilising the climate, in such circumstances becomes a nonsense. Anyone who gives the issue a minute's thought can see the active involvement of the developing countries is now an indispensable part of confronting global warming, and yet they are not involved. Because the answer is, mainly by coal-fired power stations, the biggest CO2 producers of all. The Chinese intend to build 500 coal-burning electricity generating plants by 2030 of 1,000MW capacity each. What this will do to world CO2 emissions, when combined with similar expansion in the other developing countries, led by India (where coal accounts for more than half of all its energy consumption 50.9 per cent in 2001; oil consumption is at 2.1 million barrels a day; but where vehicles are far fewer than in the US or China), was spelt out in graphic detail last year in the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2004.