THE main strategic project which the European Pattern Committee (EPC) is currently involved with is to look at ways in which we can enhance the European pattern race programme for staying horses.

The EPC believes it is vital now more than ever for Europe to offer a strong programme for horses racing over longer distances. The diversity of the race programme in Europe is one of our great attractions and generates variety in the gene pool.

While it features some important and historic races, the overall programme for stayers needs much greater co-ordination in order to make the breeding and purchasing of stayers an attractive option. A good illustration of the problem we face is the fact that just five Group 1 races over distances of 14 furlongs or more are run in Europe each year; four of these take place in a six-week period between September 10th and October 22nd, often with the St Leger and the Irish St Leger run on the same day.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has taken the lead on this issue, no doubt with prompting from the Thoroughbred Breeders Association (TBA), and has taken soundings from many parts of the industry.

The challenge here is not as straightforward as was the case for sprinters, or fillies and mares, when there was an obvious gap in the programme and the horses to fill these gaps already existed. However the behaviour of people breeding and owning stayers is a more long term issue. For that reason, the EPC will try to ensure that any pattern race changes are supported by grassroots measures in each country which focus on staying fillies and mares and on three-year-olds.

The first phase of this initiative in January of this year saw the EPC announce changes to the staying race programme.

The Goodwood Cup was upgraded to Group 1 status, the Queen’s Vase was reintroduced at Group 2 level and a new distance of 14 furlongs, the Oleander-Rennen at Hoppegarten in Berlin was upgraded to Group 2, and Ireland introduced its first group race for two-year-old at a distance of more than a mile, the nine-furlong Eyrefield Stakes.

The Committee also agreed that all Group 1 staying races in Europe should be worth a minimum of €500,000 and a special EPC sub-committee was established to consider this issue on an ongoing basis.

That Committee comprises Ruth Quinn of the BHA, Henri Pouret of France Galop and Jason Morris of Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and is working on further initiatives in relation to the European stayers programme. In this regard, the EPC is conscious of the desire of breeders associations, and the TBA in particular, that a high priority be placed on this project.

In 2019 we will see two of Europe’s great racecourses, Longchamp and the Curragh, both having new facilities and my earnest hope is that by then we will have in place a pattern race programme for staying horses across Europe which matches the excellence of the facilities which are currently under construction at these tracks.