IT was rather a surprise, though certainly not an unwelcome one, that Sole Power’s three sprint wins in Britain this year made more of an impression on the Horse Racing Ireland Awards voting panel than Australia’s two Derbys and Juddmonte International victories.

Sprinters generally have got a raw deal, never getting a chance of Group 1 success until Royal Ascot and having to fight their corner against the older horses from the start of their three-year-old careers.