Return of Irish horses to Britain's low grades an intriguing theme for next year

Credit where it is due, the BHA's decision to reverse a head-scratching ban on overseas-trained horses in low-grade handicaps came as a welcome surprise this past week.

It was a fully sensible move but not one expected by many Irish trainers, who seemed to believe there was little chance of policy revision after the BHA doubled down on its stance in August.

With the exception of "times of year where there are insufficient opportunities for British-trained runners – ie September 1 to December 31 on the Flat", low-grade handicaps will be fair game to Irish horses again from next year onwards, and monitoring their rate of success in 2023 will be fascinating.