THIS weekend in Ireland should be all about racing, but in a positive way. The €1.25 million feature will be a domestic event, with Auguste Rodin bidding to add the centrepiece Curragh classic, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, to his win at Epsom. Only two of the nine runners are trained by someone other than a member of the O’Brien family, and both of the outliers will test the favourite.

As good as the quality of racing will be this weekend, there will be one subject on the lips of people in attendance. It will not be the scandal-hit RTÉ, and payments to one of the station’s leading figures. Rather, it will centre on happenings within the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, and matters that have arisen since Thursday.

The IHRB already had questions to answer with regard to the early retirement package paid to its former chief executive, Denis Egan. In the process of preparing for a meeting with the Public Accounts Committee, IHRB chief executive Darragh O’Loughlin is understood to have unearthed a matter of grave concern. He also revealed that the body’s chief financial officer was on leave.

Given the serious nature of the matter, it is important that no conclusions are drawn before a full investigation has taken place. Approbation of blame must be avoided until the facts are revealed. However, it is clear that this matter is serious in nature, and has shed unwelcome focus on the IHRB, and by association on Irish racing. That is to be regretted, and the sooner the findings are made known, the better.

We have seen the fallout from the RTÉ matter, and it is likely that other bodies and organisations who benefit from public funds, in any way, will be scrutinised more closely. For now, it is a matter to be investigated, action taken, and anyone found in the wrong to face consequences.

That bombshell on Thursday was in the immediate aftermath of learning of the death of Dr Noel Cawley. He was someone I got to know well in the past two decades, a man with very definite views on matters, and not afraid to express them. He was a breeder of renown, a hugely successful and respected businessman, and someone with a passion for the sport horse sector.

He took a great interest in The Irish Field from the time of its acquisition by the Agricultural Trust, and offered welcome advice on matters when requested. He was one of a kind, and my condolences to his family, especially his wife Anita.