It's all in the blood - Siskin and Sceptical prove that breeding beats feeding

After the triumph that was day two of last year’s Irish Champions Weekend, the new regime at the Curragh will have circled Guineas weekend 2020 as its first opportunity to build on that overdue sentiment of goodwill.

By the time of Pat Keogh’s appointment as the course’s chief executive days after the Irish Oaks last July, bringing a summary conclusion to Derek McGrath’s tumultuous tenure, all four of the three-year-old Classics had been held.

The Sunday of ICW piggybacked on Pat Smullen’s popularity and the great cause that is Cancer Trials Ireland, with the return to the saddle of the likes of Sir Anthony McCoy, Ruby Walsh and Johnny Murtagh lending a carnival atmosphere in spite of the sodden weather.