WHEN Starzand crossed the line to win the third four-year-old race run on the December 30th card at Dromahane, Ellen Doyle’s charge brought the curtain down on the 2024 calendar year of races within the age group.

These races have long been the place of big business. This is not just for the owners and handlers sourcing and producing the equine talent that populate these races, but also for the bloodstock agents and trainers attempting to select the pick of the year’s crop, and the stallion masters seeking to secure nominations for the following year’s covering season.