RACING at the top level in Ireland and Britain took something of a breather in the last week, following the delights of the Newmarket July Meeting and Irish Oaks meeting, and prior to those anticipated at Galway and Goodwood. There were no races above Group 3 level close to home and only two at that level in fact.

It was, however, a period of some significance more widely, with the return to the racetrack of the highest-rated horses in the northern and southern hemispheres in Arrogate and Winx.