NEXT weekend is, simply put, one of the most important in Irish racing for some time. I say this for a number of reasons. Not since the introduction of Irish Champions Weekend have I felt such excitement about the racing prospects over the two days. History will be made when the appropriately-named, Japanese-trained Deirdre contests the Group 1 Qipco Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday, comprising a quality field whose potential make-up looks likely to catapult it very close to being the top race of the year when that analysis is done.

News that some of the very best juvenile colts in Europe are set to do battle in the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes the following day makes it just as mouth-watering a prospect, while the remainder of the cards at both Leopardstown and the Curragh are hugely inviting.