Fairyhouse's big weekend shows that 'festivalisation' clearly works - if you have the horses and a coherent strategy

Over the last decade, 'festivalisation' has become a trend that has increasingly informed decision-making in racing and it is a hot topic right now.

We have long had the marquee galas at the likes of Cheltenham, Punchestown, Leopardstown, Aintree, Goodwood, Listowel and Galway that punctuate a season, but the concentration and amalgamation of other high-profile autonomous cards into mini-festivals can be traced back to the inaugural Irish Champions Weekend in 2014. In a move to further capture the zeitgeist, this year it was even rebranded the Irish Champions Festival.

As revealed last week in colleague James Stevens' study of why major British owners have gravitated to Ireland, festivals are part of the allure, and they continue to drive change in the racing programme. We have seen that in the revamped autumn schedule with new concepts at Navan and Punchestown and, as outlined by Lee Mottershead on this page, it's something British racing's administrators are also keen to tap into.