A fourth place is Sir Des Champs’ worst placing in nine starts so far for Willie Mullins but that Lexus Chase run is the one that confirms him a genuine Cheltenham Gold Cup contender and maybe destined to become just the fourth Irish trained horse in over quarter of a century to win the most important steeplechase of all. (more…)

The success of the Galway festival in attracting massive crowds is really the definitive proof of how quality on the track doesn’t reflect in numbers in the stands. But it will still be interesting to see the crowd patterns during the course of Leopardstown this week. (more…)

Weekend reports that Joe Keeling is expected to be confirmed as Denis Brosnan’s successor as HRI chairman may not quite have been greeted with cries of ‘Joe Who’ but it does seem to be a choice from left-field, so much so that more than one insider queried this space as to whether an eye has been taken off the ball down Tipperary way. (more…)

An acquaintance who gets into a sweat about ratings and the pattern and such like opined at the weekend that calling the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle a top class race because it is “Grade 1” is like calling Sligo Rovers top class because the word “Premier” is in the League of Ireland title. Which is very unfair – on the Hatton’s Grace. (more…)