Britain's best races on the Flat badly need protecting - as prize-money warnings highlight

Last week's column featured a tour around the horseracing world that was not particularly cheery, given it highlighted the demise of the sport in some jurisdictions and the challenges facing others.

Those cases illustrated the need to avoid complacency when it comes to racing in Britain, although there can be few who think all is rosy in the garden.

Much of the discussion has been about British jump racing in recent weeks but in the last few days there have been a couple of reminders about the situation the Flat faces in a much more international marketplace. One came from Dubai after Hong-Kong-based California Spangle won the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan.