There was no Irish winner of the Ebor Handicap on Saturday but the four horses that ran represented their connections well. The admirable Sea The Lion continued his progression when running a stormer to finish third. He was closely followed by Ger Lyons’ Mustajeer in fourth, while Whiskey Sour ran a big race in sixth. The much touted Stratum, as you’ve most likely saw, read or heard, was unlucky in the run, all dressed up with nowhere to go in the straight and was eased down by Robert Winston once his chance had gone.

It was still an impressive show from the Irish contingent given three of the four raiders were able finish in the top six of a 20-runner field. That is a disproportionate return but this is a trend we have seen in ever since Sesenta became the first Irish-trained winner of this race since Aidan O'Brien's Mediterranean won in 2001.

Since and including that race, there has been 28 Irish-trained runners among a total of 189 runners which equals just short of 15%, yet Ireland has won the Ebor on four occasions in that period; Sesenta (2009), Dirar (2010), Mutual Regard (2014) and Heartbreak City (2016).

What’s more, nearly half of that Irish representation made the top four, with three seconds, two thirds and four fourths.

Sesenta and Dirar represented the now hugely powerful predominantly National Hunt yards of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott and perhaps that laid somewhat of a blueprint for other jumps handlers. A good jumps horse can prosper on the level, as we have also seen in frequently in the Ascot Stakes, which bears a lot more similarity to a Cheltenham Festival heat these days.

But small Irish trainers have achieved notable success with their stayers in the Ebor as well. Sea The Lion hauled in another €50,000 on Jarlath Fahey’s watch on Saturday. John Kiely trained Toe The Line to finish fourth in 2015 while Tommy Carmody went close to winning the race with Royal Diamond, who was a neck runner-up to Godolphin’s Willing Foe in 2015.

Tony Martin is another who has a fantastic record in the race. He trained the 2016 winner Heartbreak City and he also had Quick Jack finish third in the same race. Previously the ever dependable Ted Veale finished fourth in the race twice while Salute Him also finished in that position in 2010.

Going forward, Irish trainers, flat and National Hunt, should look to target the Ebor even more. The stats speak for themselves. The race is going to be worth £1 million from next year and with the race winner also offered a ballot-free entry to the Melbourne Cup. It will be some contest to win.

IRISH CHAMPIONS WEEKEND

It’s shaping up nicely now.

Roaring Lion was a hugely impressive winner of the Juddmonte International and that was a good result for the Irish Champion Stakes as a race. Sheikh Fahad al Thani sponsors the Leopardstown contest through Qipco, and so Roaring Lion must be an odds-on shot to land in Dublin in just under three weeks time. And if he does, he’ll be a second big name alongside Alpha Centauri headlining the Leopardstown Saturday card. That’s what you want for Irish Champions Weekend - the potential champion three-year-old filly and three-year-old colt on show.

And it’s not looking too bad for the Curragh on Sunday either. Pretty Pollyanna’s owner Bill Gredley revealed over the weekend that this year’s standout juvenile filly is being aimed towards the Moyglare Stud Stakes while yesterday’s winner Anthony Van Dyck is very likely to take Aidan O’Brien’s trusted Futurity Stakes-to-National Stakes route. That means you have next year’s 1000 Guineas favourite and Derby favourite on trial at the Curragh.

While Irish St Leger isn’t a race that inspires many these days, the Flying Five Stakes, now a Group 1, could attract a very interesting field. Blue Point is a likely runner and he could still be joined by Battaash, who still has the potential to steal the whole show despite his disappointing effort at York.

SCATTER

Yesterday’s Curragh card was something of a trial for the upcoming Group 1 juvenile events. Anthony Van Dyck looked workmanlike but ultimately ran out a ready winner of the Futurity Stakes. He may not have been suited by the ground and his stable could be in a lot better form so there could easily be a lot more to come from the son of Galileo.

On the other hand, Patrick Prendergast’s Skitter Scatter enhanced her profile further with an impressive two-and-a-quarter length win in the Debutante Stakes. The daughter of Scat Daddy set a tangible standard courtesy of her Group 3 Silver Flash Stakes win at Leopardstown, which saw her attain a mark of 102. It was expected by many that at least two or three or even more of the fillies from bigger stables which she faced yesterday would improve past that level, yet it was her who improved from Leopardstown with an authoritative success.

The slowing down of the Ballydoyle bandwagon has allowed other trainers to take advantage this season which is refreshing to see. Prendergast is having a good year with his string - 14 winners from 89 runners is already a personal best return - and Skitter Scatter’s jockey Ronan Whelan is an excellent rider, well overdue a top level success.

This filly gave the pair their highest profile win to date and she could do the same again in next month’s Moyglare Stud Stakes, for which she could well be the one to beat.