IN a year in which Irish trainers dominated the classics, there were still moments worth celebrating for domestic stables, if not the ones which might have been expected to hog the headlines.

Hugo Palmer did his bit for Newmarket courtesy of 2000 Guineas and St James’ Palace winner Galileo Gold, but the story of the year belongs to the St Leger, which saw the Nick and Jackie Cornwell-owned Harbour Law win in dramatic style after hot favourite Idaho had unseated Seamie Heffernan just as the race was beginning in earnest.

Harbour Law was a notable winner in that he was trained by an unfashionable handler in Laura Mongan (née Sheen), whose previous big-race win had come over hurdles, echoing the success of Pam Sly’s Speciosa in the 1000 Guineas a decade previously.

Unlike Sly, however, Mongan doesn’t train in Newmarket, but Epsom, and the success of her colt on Town Moor provided that famous but impoverished training centre with its first classic winner since 1969, when Right Tack won the Guineas for Geoff Lewis and John Sutcliffe, both stalwarts of the town.

It was heartening to see a place so steeped in racing put back on the metaphorical map, but everything about Harbour Law’s win was heartwarming, with a serendipitous feature on Ian and Laura Mongan forming part of Channel 4’s pre-race coverage.

In an age when powerful owners and trainers seem to farm the big prizes, the enthusiasm of the Mongans shone through, and their stable star provided the perfect ending for their efforts, winning on merit under a cool ride from the stylish George Baker, who was gaining a first classic winner himself.

The race, and the story behind the victors, seemed to belong to a bygone era, but the event was greatly enriched as a result, and provided the primary feel-good moment of the British flat season.

Hopefully connections can hang onto him with the prospect of turning him into a Cup horse in seasons to come, but he’s likely to be in demand in the international market, looking an ideal sort for the Melbourne Cup.

There was pressure for connections to sell after the colt finished second to Sword Fighter in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot.

It would be something of a shame if he didn’t continue to race in the orange and purple livery of Jackie Cornwell, not just for Laura Mongan, but for an industry which is drifting towards homogeneity with each passing year. People like the Cornwells add colour to the sport in more ways than one.