WHAT do you do in Ireland on the weekend of the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in ParisLongchamp when it comes to putting on a programme of racing. It is natural that much media attention will be focused on France where, on Saturday and Sunday next, seven Group 1 races for thoroughbreds, four Group 2s and a pair of Group 1 races for purebred Arabians will be featured.

It is not just in Ireland that local racing will have to play second fiddle in terms of coverage to the hugely lucrative and prestigious racing across the channel.