SO Irish Champions Weekend has come and gone and we are speeding into the return of the jumping stars. That also inevitably means soft ground is likely to prevail on the flat. Gleneagles was again a late withdrawal from the Irish Champions Stakes. He has now missed four outings since Royal Ascot. Only one - the Jacques le Marois - was run on what could have been described as bad ground. So Gleneagles whither thou goest now? The landmarks of the second half of the season, the Sussex Stakes, the Juddmonte, the Jacques le Marois, the Irish Champions Stakes have gone.

The ground was deemed too soft for his participation at Leopardstown yet many took a chance and most were not inconvenienced.