Magical and Stradivarius top the class of 2019, while Galileo retains his crown
Tony Morris reflects on a year which contained a record 421 Pattern contests
The curtain came down on the 49th European Pattern season with the running of the Prix Fille de l’Air at Toulouse last Monday.
The 2019 schedule had programmed a total of 425 races, but it turned out that the actual number contested was 421, still the highest on record, comprising 84 in Group 1, 114 in Group 2 and 223 in Group 3.
For the second year in a row the three races listed for Turkey could not be run as international events, so they were dropped. And although fresh arrangements were swiftly made for two of the races lost to Britain’s ‘washout weekend’ in October, no new home could be found for the St Simon Stakes.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inFeatures
Last updated
Copy- Captain Marvel: how a modern master of Cheltenham and a genuine pioneer executed one of the shocks of the year
- 'We’re delighted with how it's going' - joint-trainers prepare for exciting year after Flat string is doubled
- 'We’ve had to work hard this sales season' - Kennet Valley seeking to build on success with biggest string
- Alastair Down's archives: the great writer recalls Coneygree's glorious victory in the 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup
- Kauto Star: the extraordinary talent who became the benchmark for sheer undiluted quality
- Captain Marvel: how a modern master of Cheltenham and a genuine pioneer executed one of the shocks of the year
- 'We’re delighted with how it's going' - joint-trainers prepare for exciting year after Flat string is doubled
- 'We’ve had to work hard this sales season' - Kennet Valley seeking to build on success with biggest string
- Alastair Down's archives: the great writer recalls Coneygree's glorious victory in the 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup
- Kauto Star: the extraordinary talent who became the benchmark for sheer undiluted quality