'We have cheapened the prestige' - bloodstock maestro Tony Morris's take on 2022

The 2022 European Pattern programme came to an end on Sunday, November 13, when events at Krefeld and Milan wrapped up a season of 422 races.

The original schedule had 425, but the three planned for Turkey in September failed to meet international criteria and were reduced to local status. Also missing from that month’s list was the Premio del Piazzale, lost because of unsafe ground at San Siro, but that Group 3 contest found an alternative date on the closing weekend of the campaign.

The revisions meant that this year’s schedule fell four short of last year’s record tally. Also slightly down was the number of individual winners, which at 319 was one below last year’s score and five less than the peak reached in 2018.