THE week just gone was a necessarily quiet one ahead of Irish Champions Festival, but there were some interesting races at the lower level, not least Happy Jacky winning the Ulster Cesarewitch last Friday.

Happy Jacky is one of the slower horses currently racing on the flat in Ireland, but I mean that as a compliment, as he just stays going from the front, doing similar over hurdles as he has gotten older, and the longest race in the calendar suited him to a tee.