IRISH racing has gained a new Group 1 race following an upgrade of the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five at the Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend (ICW).

The boost in status for the five-furlong race is one of a number of enhancements to the Irish pattern and listed programme for the 2018 flat season which have been approved by the European Pattern Committee.

The Flying Five sits perfectly within the European calendar between the Nunthorpe at York and the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp, and will be just the fourth Group 1 sprint over five furlongs in Europe. Its prize money will be increased from €300,000 to €350,000 for 2018. It is the only new Group 1 race in Europe this year.

Jason Morris, director of racing at Horse Racing Ireland, said: “We are delighted to have secured an upgrade for the Flying Five as it has been a long-held ambition of HRI to create a first Group 1 sprint opportunity for older horses in Ireland.

“We have strategically increased prize money for the race over the past few years with a view to improving its quality. This policy has now reaped dividends with horses of the calibre of Sole Power and Caravaggio winning the race in recent years and we will now have a true championship sprint event in which to showcase the top Irish and international sprinters at the Curragh.”

Also on Irish Champions Weekend, the Willis Tower Watson Champions Juvenile Turf (registered as the Golden Fleece) at Leopardstown changes from from Group 3 to Group 2 status. Leopardstown’s two-year-old fillies’ maiden becomes a two-year-old winners’ listed race for fillies (with restrictive conditions to distinguish it from the Moyglare Stud Stakes).

The Mercury Stakes at Dundalk, won by Take Cover last October, goes from listed to Group 3.

There are further improvements to the Irish staying race programme. The Stanerra Stakes, to be run over 14 furlongs at Leopardstown on July 12th, will be upgraded to Group 3 as part of an ongoing European project to improve the programme of blacktype staying races for fillies and mares.

Gowran Park gains a new 14-furlong listed race for older fillies on May 9th and there is a new three-year-old only listed race over 14 furlongs at Leopardstown on July 26th.

The fourth new Irish listed race to be added for 2018 will be a five and a half furlong sprint for three-year-old fillies only to be run on May 7th at Naas, the first such race (listed sprint restricted to three-year-old fillies) to be run in Europe.

Other changes approved by the European Pattern Committee for 2018 see a change in distance for the Listed 2000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown on April 14th from a mile to seven furlongs, the Listed Patton Stakes at Dundalk being moved from April to March 2nd and increased in distance from seven furlongs to a mile, where the €75,000 contest will form part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby European Series.

Only one Irish race has been downgraded – the Curragh Stakes over five furlongs for two-year-olds in August has lost its Group 3 status and will be a listed contest.

There are no Irish races on the list of eight blacktype events identified by the European Pattern Committee as in danger of being downgraded for 2019. The Deutsches Derby and Premio Lydia Tesio are the two Group 1s on that list.

There was further good news for the Curragh this week when the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby was rated as the leading three-year-old race in the world last year. The Coolmore Fastnet Rock Matron Stakes at Leopardstown ranked as the world’s best fillies and mares’ race.

World Thoroughbred Rankings >>A49-54