Where have all the good horses gone? Irish racing cannot afford to be complacent

Ger Lyons wasn't in the mood for empty platitudes when he encountered a select faction of the hardcore racing press after Mutasarref won at Naas late one evening in July.

It was his third winner on the card but he didn't let that temper his renowned irascibility. When most would take a moment to wallow in the triumph, Lyons' inclination was to remove himself from the glory of it and enlighten us about the wood that was being missed for the trees.

"We can't be [complacent] in Ireland thinking we have good prize-money. We need to keep an eye on prize-money as we're selling all our good horses," he said.