WITH the exception of the weather, the weekend racing at the Curragh was both a delight and of the highest order, and the three Group 1 races on Saturday and Sunday were out of the top drawer. The Tattersalls Gold Cup will surely go down as one of the highest-rated contests of the season, and this is a race that was threatened with being down-graded on a number of occasions due to its failure to attract enough quality runners.

Four of the five Group 1 winners among the nine starters passed the post with less than two lengths covering them. Were the quartet to meet again, you could imagine a different result.