Underwhelming Flying Five highlights pressing need for quality control

Sometimes, all it takes is a single horse. Had Blue Point lined up for the Derrinstown Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh ten days ago, in all probability he would have triumphed with something to spare. And in that event, those taking stock of Irish Champions Weekend would have lauded the newly appointed Group 1 sprint as well worthy of its status.

Instead, Blue Point’s absence after a dirty scope prompted a series of laments over the quality of a championship race in which the only runner who had previously won a Group 1 race was Sioux Nation – and that came in last season’s Phoenix Stakes for two-year-olds.

In the circumstances it was no surprise to see the Flying Five so thoroughly dissected. The introduction of lucrative racing festivals at Ascot and in Ireland left some observers feeling uneasy at the embarrassment of available riches. Yet while the Flying Five was the most obvious example of a Group 1 race too far, the superimposing of Irish Champions Weekend on to the St Leger meeting and the Arc trials at Longchamp threw up a spate of similar anomalies.