Sir, - It was a real pleasure to watch Eagle Valley (trained by Tracey Collins and ridden by Ronan Whelan) and Duchess Andorra (trained by Johnny Murtagh and ridden by Connor King) finish first and second in the Grand Prix Schlossatelier at St Moritz last Sunday.

Furthermore it was also remarkable that both horses were owned by Michael Ryan, whose Duchess Andorra had also won the corresponding race last year when trained by Joanna Morgan.

Mr Ryan and his entourage clearly enjoy their racing and the fact that both horses were led into the winner’s enclosure together further added to an already brilliant atmosphere!

In this ‘playground of the rich and famous’ Mr Ryan’s Irish contingent certainly added some flair, compared to their somewhat more reserved continental counterparts, and he did our country proud.

Hats off to Ms Collins and Messrs Murtagh and Ryan for travelling their horses to one of the most spectacular racemeetings in the world, a meeting well branded and powerfully marketed as ‘White Turf’.

First run in 1907 and held ever since in St Moritz (one of the world’s most exclusive resorts), the meeting is also aggressively marketed and even trademarked as being ‘Top Of The World’.

While it seems that the locals could learn a thing of two about horse training from Ms Collins, those responsible for the marketing and promotion of our racing industry could perhaps do worse than observing some of St Moritz’s marketing prowess. Their brand awareness seemed second to none.

From my limited knowledge I believe marketing to be a term loosely used to describe the means of communication between the product supplier and the consumer audience.

Last Sunday at St Moritz our product (thoroughbreds sired by Irish-based stallions at time of covering) were responsible for 60% of all the flat runners on the card (23 of the 39 runners), 60% of all the winning and placed horses (seven out of 12) and, more impressively, 75% of the actual race winners (three winners out of four races).

The ‘consumer audience’ at St Moritz last Sunday was surely amongst the most affluent in the world, something that can be confirmed by a simple glance at relevant GDPs and reflected in the average local property price of €30,000 per square metre.

From early morning on Sunday the world’s elite - billionaires, Russian oligarchs et cetera – landed their huge private jets in Samedan private airport, some 5km from the racecourse, before being chauffeur-driven in limousines to view the racing. They, like the Irish, shared a passion for horse racing having travelled from all corners of the globe to attend.

With this in mind I found it absolutely staggering that there was no visible promotion of Ireland’s thoroughbred racing industry anywhere on the course or, more importantly, on the racecard, where a simple advert pointing the captive audience to a website promoting Irish racing and bloodstock would surely have generated interest and investment.

In our absence the UAE grasped the opportunity with both hands and sponsored a lady riders race, rather ambitiously entitled the ‘Ladies World Championship’.

The fact that Ann Stokell represented Britain in this ‘World Championship’ event probably speaks for itself but nonetheless the crowd were treated to speeches informing all present that every thoroughbred horse in the world was descended from the UAE’s Arabian as the UAE’s Belgian and Italian ambassadors were paraded with the lady riders for photo shoots. Apparently there will be three more of these races at the White Turf meetings next year!

Full credit to them for their sponsorship and initiative at a time when ‘Paddy’ was at home boiling the spuds for Sunday lunch.

It may also be of note that both the Turkish and Polish Jockey Clubs formed new alliances with their Swiss counterpart in 2016. The second leg of the two Turkish exchange races, ‘The Grand Prix White Turf St Moritz’ will be run in Istanbul on May 15th.

Not for a minute am I suggesting that we start flying scores of representatives to such events but, at a time when new owners are needed to keep small Irish trainers in the game, a simple strategically placed advert in the racecard on such occasions surely wouldn’t break the bank, especially with a target market of in excess of 30,000 people attending White Turf each year.

In a cold climate, where most seemed to wear hats (a baseball hat seems to be a prerequisite for driving a Ferrari there) handing out some promotional Irish racing hats and merchandise would possibly be a no-brainer.

Would it not also be an idea to partner with one of our fine whiskey distillers on such occasions (the St Moritz marquee serving Irish whiskeys and Irish coffees last Sunday was wedged) in some sort of an Irish racing and hospitality roadshow?

A winter tour of elite social events could be arranged with the costs being negated by the alcohol sales and any shortfall being absorbed by the distillery for the advertising they gain. Such organisations have always been heavily involved in race sponsorship but on this occasion they would in effect be sponsoring an Irish racing and hospitality experience.

Promoting the sales of Irish horses is one thing but surely trying to sell Irish horses to new owners and keep them in training in Ireland is a far better target. Ireland is a nation of able horsemen and women and our ‘Irishness’ is surely as valuable and marketable as our horses in this respect.

I was truly amazed at the opportunities missed last Sunday. One can only describe it as daft that the marketing ambassadors for racing failed to identify such a showcase on behalf of an industry that is struggling to attract new owners. It seems not all the cuckoos are in the clocks just yet!

Finally, on leaving the racecourse I saw a huge Irish flag in the distance. On closer inspection I saw that it was professionally sign-written on the side of a horse lorry and was strategically parked like a bill board in the car park for all the race traffic to see. It read ‘J.D. Hillis, Irish Racehorse Trainer, Munich’.

Mr Hillis, it seems, has identified his ‘consumer audience’ by himself and used his ‘Irishness’ to capitalise on it! – Yours etc.,

JAMES MESCALL,

The Curragh,

Co Kildare.

Mares’ chase

Sir, - I think it is high-time the Cheltenham Festival introduced a mares’ chase to their programme. Had there been one this year it would have immediately solved the puzzle around which race Vroum Vroum Mag would be aimed at!

It’s hard enough for owners and breeders to risk their most talented mares over fences without even having a dedicated race to aim for at the biggest National Hunt meeting of the year. I think mares deserve the opportunity to showcase their talents over hurdles and fences against their own sex. This is what happens at all the major flat meetings, so why not in National Hunt as well? – Yours etc.,

CATHAL ENNIS,

Castletown-Geoghegan,

Co Westmeath

Letters to the Editor should be addressed to The Editor, The Irish Field, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12. Name, address and telephone number must be included for verification. Letters are published at the Editor’s discretion and the Editor reserves the right to edit letters within reason.