IRISH horses did well in the Ebor at York on Saturday. Okay, so there wasn’t an Irish-trained winner but, of the four Irish representatives, three of them (Sea The Lion, Mustajeer and Whiskey Sour) finished in the first six, and the one who didn’t (Stratum) probably would have had he not been badly hampered on the run to the furlong marker.

The collective performance was consistent with Ireland’s good recent record in the race, with Irish trainers being responsible for four of the last 10 winners. That contrasts with the record that went before, with Mediterranean’s victory in 2001 the only Irish-trained success in the race between Bonne Noel in 1973 and Sesenta in 2009.