LAST weekend saw an unrelenting torrent of high-class action in Ireland with no less than 10 group races over two days at Leopardstown and the Curragh and there’s little doubt the highlight was, as befits the race after which the weekend is named, Magical’s pulsating win in the Irish Champion Stakes.

Arguably the race of the season so far, with the six runners boasting 14 Group 1 wins and numerous Group 2 wins between them, it delivered on all counts that concluded with a stamina-sapping head-to-head struggle between Magical and the odds-on favourite Ghaiyyath all the way up the straight.