IRISH sprinting has been in the doldrums so far this decade and, since the start of 2020, just two Irish-trained runners have managed to win a Group 1 sprint for three-year-olds and older in Britain and Ireland, those wins coming via Romantic Proposal and Moss Tucker, neither of which seemed expected given both started at 16/1.

Many Irish listed and group sprints have gone for export in that time, but there were some green shoots at the Curragh over the weekend via My Mate Alfie and Keke.