HATS off to Joe Foley for the initiative he showed when, in 2020, he staged the first running of the Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes at Naas, a valuable median auction race that has a winners’ purse of some €150,000.

Little wonder that such a behemoth as Coolmore and Aidan O’Brien would target it with a decent runner, and they won the initial staging of the contest, and doubled up this year.