WITH crowds returning to British racecourses, the last week looked terrifically normal, and was enhanced by the quality racing at Ascot and Goodwood.

We have endured years of mediocre classic winners, especially among the colts. Indeed, apart from Enable and a few others, a lot of the Groups 1 races have been far from memorable.

Remember no three-year-old colts featured very well in the Group 1 races at British Champions’ day last year and all the main races were won by older geldings - Trueshan in the Group 2 stayers, then Glen Shiel, The Revenant and Addeybb.

The classics this year almost feel like a throwback two decades ago with classic winners Adayar, Hurricane Lane, Poetic Flare, St Mark’s Basilica and Snowfall, and joined by Alcohol Free, all now dual Group 1-winning three-year-olds. And they all seems a bit above the ordinary.

The strange thing is that there was not a Galileo offspring among them. Just in the year of his passing, the mantle was passing on naturally. Of course Adayar is a product of the Galileo line, by his best son Frankel, and from a daughter of the next best sire around in Dubawi. Breeding royalty.

Perfection

While Sea The Stars may always be remembered by Jim McGrath’s “perfection in equine form”, John Gosden remarked on how good Adayar looked at Ascot last week. He did look worthy of that tag in the way he went about the victory to complement his physical appearance. Indeed, the win reminded one of Galileo himself fighting off Fantastic Light in the King George 20 years ago.

Goodwood also sent the mind back to when the Jeff Smith colours were carried to victory in the Sussex Stakes with Chief Singer, part of that wonderful crop of three-year-olds that blessed the 1984 season.

It also offered lovely success stories, rare in the top echelons of the flat, with Lady Bowthrope, a five-year-old mare, progressing all the way from her first win on the all-weather at Lingfield back in the August of her three-year-old career, to dine at the top Group 1 table, for a lesser known rider, trainer and owner.

Jeff Smith’s intended bold campaign – albeit a filly is easier to take chances with – also harked back to Chief Singer who went from the St James’s Palace to the July Cup, to the Sussex and on to the 10-furlong International at York.

Adayar, Hurricane Lane and Snowfall are likely to meet, while Poetic Flare deserves another chance at Alcohol Free, with possibly St Mark’s Basilica in there too. The rest of the flat season is something to savour, and we don’t say that too often.