THERE were no group races on the flat in Ireland in the period under review, but some of the events may have a bearing on the tail-end of the turf season, as well as on the all-weather action through the winter.

The Johnny Murtagh-trained Hawke confirmed the promise of his third in the Diamond Stakes at Dundalk by winning a listed contest there comfortably from Elusive Heights, registering a 102 timefigure in the process.

Hawke has built up a good record on polytrack and might be a contender for races in Britain’s All-Weather Championships (which launch next week) if opportunities dry up for him closer to home.

Brendan Brackan had form at Dundalk (and at Meydan) earlier in his career and showed there was plenty of life in the old chap still by landing the Listed Navigation Stakes at Cork with a timefigure of 99.

Toe The Line and Intimation both won listed races at Naas, though neither recorded all that good a time on ground that was undoubtedly heavy, as described.

Toe The Line - who gets a timefigure of 90 - was nonetheless more than a second quicker than 14-length handicap winner Renneti at the same course and distance half an hour later. The difference, and more besides, came in the home straight, which Renneti completed in around 3.0s quicker.

That sounds impressive in one sense, but it also underlines that the handicap was nothing like so thorough a test of stamina as the listed race, with Renneti getting his way up front for much of the way and posting a timefigure of just 82. Renneti is talented, including over hurdles, but probably not quite as good as this demolition job made him look. Anyone looking for a couple of all-weather horses to follow through the winter could do worse than look at the Michael Halford-trained pair Dark Alliance and Reddot Dancer, who both put in good late sectionals at the aforementioned Dundalk meeting.