Where have all the good Irish horses gone? Ezeliya's exit hammers home dearth of quality outside O'Brien & Sons Inc

Crumbs. Losing Ezeliya just as the season was starting to get motoring was a blow we could have all done without.

The news emerged from the Aga Khan's team on Saturday and there was so much going on at the time you'd imagine plenty will have missed it.

Dermot Weld's effervescent Oaks winner blazed bright like a shooting star at Epsom, but now she's gone after four starts and so fleeting was her impact you're left to ponder if she was real at all. That's the ephemeral lot of fragile thoroughbreds in racing's cosmos. In time she will doubtless leave a more lasting impression on the breed.