Tattersalls Gold Cup switched to July in Irish reshuffle

PA Sport Reporters
May 19, 2020 3:15 pm

July 26 event will be open to three-year-olds.

This year’s Tattersalls Gold Cup will be open to the Classic generation when it is run on a revised date in July, Horse Racing Ireland has announced.

The Group One event is usually for four-year-olds and over when it is contested during the Irish Guineas meeting in May, but following the delayed start to the 2020 Flat campaign due to the coronavirus crisis, it has been moved to July 26 to fill “a significant gap in the revised Pattern”.

The Tattersalls Gold Cup and the first Classics of the year – the 1000 and 2000 Guineas, are the only Group One events to have new dates in the calendar, will all other top-level contests remaining in their usual slots.

HRI intends to run a full complement of Group races through the year, but the Irish two-year-old Group races will not commence until July due to the late start to the campaign.

Brian Kavanagh, HRI’s chief executive, said: “The revised list of Pattern races published today will see the many of them run on their original dates and under their typical conditions, though inevitably some have had date, race conditions and even venue changes to allow them fit into the new schedule.

“Apart from the three Group One races normally run on Guineas weekend, all other Group One races in Ireland will be run on their originally scheduled dates and venues.

“The two-year-old Group race programme will start about six weeks later than normal, in early July, but again the full complement of opportunities will be run between then and season end.

“2020 will be anything but a normal year, but in the circumstances, we have tried to preserve the opportunities which the Irish race programme offers to the better horse.”

Racing resumes in Ireland behind closed doors on June 8 having been on hold March 24.