Genius O'Brien shows off Irish racing globally - but it's at home we have issues
The final week of the Irish Flat season rather encapsulated the current state of Flat racing in the country as a whole: thriving on the international stage but with major issues to address domestically.
Naas on Sunday produced a tame finish. For months the main narrative of the season had centred on the jockeys' championship battle between Colin Keane and Billy Lee, but all came to naught when Lee was ruled out of the last two days of the season after his appeal against a period of suspension was dismissed. It was an unfortunate outcome for a rider who contributed so much to the season, but it was more important proper procedures were followed than to have the rules bent for a purpose outside the disciplinary sphere.
Yet if Naas went out with a whimper, Aidan O'Brien provided the bang to compensate at the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.
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