I've been giving it some additional thought and come to a simple conclusion regarding the nature of racing and the wider applications of sports promotions.
Sometimes classic encounters unfold, and these go into folklore. Some sports are luckier than others in that they are played out over a longer time frame and so the public gets the chance to see events unfolding and so the opportunity to take an interest emerges thus. The 2005 Ashes would be an example, as would the rugby world cup. You might suggest that these could have been foreseen? I think on balance you'd be right. Others such as the Nicklaus versus Watson 1976 open occurred more or less organically, but at least there was 48 hours to take it in, as the two of them engaged in a personal duel, and the rest were no where. Davis versus Taylor would be another example.
Other sports don't lend themselves quite so readily to this, and therefore the occurence of a 'classic' has to be foreseen in advance. Boxing and possibly tennis would be two that come to mind. Any hype to do with proclaiming something a 'classic' therefore has to be done retrospectively, and the opportunity to maximise the event for promotional purposes is largely lost if it is relegated to historical retrospectives.
The Gold Cup is over in less than 7 minutes and so racing fits the category of 'classic clashes' only occuring in hindsight, and this will always compromise the sports ability to showcase itself, unless someone is sufficiently visionary to foresee that the ingredients for a classic exist, and then brave enough (given the well documented potential pitfalls) to take a punt at it, and have ago at promoting something with the ever attendent knowledge that it could blow up in your face at any moment.
