ON slightly different note but staying with scheduling it was unsatisfactory for a great many interested television viewers, along with race sponsors and those connected with the fine initiative, that the build up to last Sunday’s Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes was restricted to just a couple of minutes before the runners jumped off.

This race was the richest two-year-old contest of the season in Ireland or Europe and represents a great and innovative addition to the Irish racing calendar.

Yet for those viewing at home they were treated to the finish of a near two and three quarter-mile novice chase at Cartmel before the Racing TV presenters on track at Naas were left with just a few fleeting moments to discuss one of the biggest races of the 2020 Irish flat season.

Admittedly there was enough time for Ruby Walsh to give the 22/1 winner Chief Little Hawk a good mention but the point is that this race deserved its place in the limelight last Sunday as opposed to being shoehorned into what actually wasn’t a particularly busy schedule.

Hectic weekend

There are many times during a hectic weekend when races simply can’t be given the time that they might merit but Sunday was a relatively quiet day on the racing front with just three meetings taking place across the Irish Sea.

Given that last Sunday wasn’t crammed with racing, surely those that compile schedules both at home and in Britain can work together and come up with solutions that can enable certain events to be showcased to their maximum.

Bloodstock industry

Luckily, the race at Naas was sponsored within the bloodstock industry but if you were a sponsor external to racing would you feel you had got your money’s worth for a €320,000 contest to get just a fleeting mention.

This is not to say that the day’s feature wasn’t mentioned in the Naas coverage earlier in the afternoon but still the preliminaries warranted greater exposure.

There was precedent earlier in the summer when RTÉ were covering racing for some feature events to be moved towards the end of a card in order to maximise their exposure.

Sponsors’ outlay

Perhaps what took place at Naas might serve as a salutary lesson because in the current climate, prospective sponsors for big races aren’t exactly plentiful and it is rather important that sponsors feel as though they are getting some sort of return for their outlay.