THE European Pattern Book has at times been widely criticised. The fact that the number of races included has increased so dramatically over the years has led some people to suggest it is in danger of becoming meaningless.
When the initial Pattern was first announced in 1973, there were to be 100 pattern races in Britain, of which 19 were Group 1; 99 pattern races in France, of which 22 were Group 1; and 22 pattern races in Ireland, of which five were Group 1 – which were in fact the five classics (the Irish St Leger then still being a traditional classic, open to just three-year-olds).
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