LAST week’s revamp of the European sprint programme came as a welcome development for the writer of this column and many others who have long been calling for positive changes in this area. The changes haven’t found favour in all quarters, particularly among those opposed to the creation of a new Group 1 sprint for three-year-olds only at Royal Ascot, but personally I feel the positives far outweigh the negatives.

The major problem that the sprinting division has had is that there has been very little in the way of pattern races for three-year-old only sprinters and precious few three-year-olds have proved up to competing with their older rivals in Group 1 sprints in the first half of the season.