Centre stage at the Curragh last weekend went to the crack English colt Kingman for his stylish victory in the Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas. The John Gosden inmate only narrowly lost his unbeaten record in the English equivalent several weeks previously and he coped well with the testing ground to outclass his rivals and look a colt of the highest quality.

There was further joy for the English raiders the following day as Noble Mission claimed the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup. This was an especially heartening success as the five-year-old brother to Frankel was giving Henry Cecil’s widow, Lady Jane Cecil, her first top-level triumph since she took over the reins from her husband just over a year ago. Noble Mission relished the ground and produced a brave performance from the front to account for Aidan O’Brien’s Magician.

There was better luck for the Ballydoyle trainer in the Etihad Airways Irish 1000 Guineas as the lightly raced Marvellous stormed home from the rear of the field to run out a decisive winner. The Galileo filly will have absolutely no trouble stepping up to longer trips and this effort puts her firmly into the reckoning for next week’s Epsom Oaks.

Elsewhere, mention must also be made of Eddie Lynam’s Slade Power who made a most impressive return to action in the Greenlands Stakes, defeating soft ground specialist Maarek. On this evidence, Slade Power is going to be a major player in some of Europe’s top sprints this summer.