A brilliant two days on the track - and here are the key sectional timing takeaways

The Irish Champions Festival has its issues but there is no question that you don't often get as many top-class races on the same cards, which allows for some fascinating sectional timing comparisons to be drawn.

The Irish Champion Stakes was set up to be an enthralling tactical affair, and so it proved. One might have expected a similar scenario to 2023, when Auguste Rodin sat on the heels of two positively ridden stablemates, but this time he adopted far more patient tactics, having only 250-1 shot Hans Andersen behind him as Economics was creeping into a more prominent position on the outside. While he nearly got there, ultimately he couldn't deny the new superstar his first Group 1 win.

Economics had a finishing speed of 99.5 per cent, indicating a well-run race, and the contest undoubtedly suited closers. Luxembourg really stepped on the accelerator in furlongs three and four, with many of the field clocking their fastest furlongs at that stage, and Luxembourg and Ghostwriter deserve credit for sticking in there having been in the teeth of a strong gallop.