WE pride ourselves in Britain and Ireland on our racing festivals, and while nothing on this side of the Irish Sea can match Cheltenham for engagement with the general public, the British season has clanked along quite happily with the caravan moving from Newmarket to Chester to York in May, Epsom to Royal Ascot in June, Newmarket in July, Glorious Goodwood straddling midsummer and giving way to York in August and then Doncaster and Newmarket in September.

I’ll refrain from including Newmarket’s Future Champions’ Festival in this list for the very good reason that a two-day race meeting is clearly not a festival, as Galway regulars will no doubt agree.