OpinionLewis Porteous
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Britain’s middle-distance crisis: how this year’s Group 1 results reveal a shocking pattern
Lewis PorteousReporter
Goliath put British challengers to the sword in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes Credit: Getty Images
Let's start with a bit of trivia: in Group 1 contests staged beyond a mile on the Flat in Britain this year, how many winners have been trained on home soil?
There have been 11 qualifying races in 2024, starting with the Coronation Cup, Oaks and Derby at Epsom, encompassing the likes of the Prince of Wales's Stakes and Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, then on to summer highlights such as the Eclipse, King George and International Stakes.
Incredibly, not one has gone to a horse trained in Britain.
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more inLewis Porteous
- Difficult to overstate how important Wathnan could be for the health of British racing
- Every penny counts in the title race and it is no coincidence Dan Skelton is off to a flyer
- Derby again lives up to the expectation of history - and Epsom as a training centre has an opportunity to do the same
- We're all bit players in Willie's World - but spare a thought for the man who would be king in any other era
- Repeat winners, raw emotion and awesome amateurs: there are still plenty of potential Grand National fairytales