THE ongoing focus on three-year-old hurdles and growing obsession with French-bred horses has, in part, been influenced by the Cheltenham Festival. Everyone wants a winner there, so the fact that three-year-old hurdles and France were the leading source of the 2024 Festival’s Grade 1 winners held some sway.

That changed last week, when Irish-bred horses matched France’s tally of five Grade 1 winners, while the British celebrated a recent best with three.