Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) today announced their revised Group race programme for the rest of the year, a plan that will see the full complement of Group races run in 2020.

The Tattersalls Gold Cup is normally run in late May but with racing not due to restart until next month due to Covid-19-enforced restrictions, a new slot has had to be found for the 10-furlong Group 1.

The race will now take place at the end of July and the fact it will now be open to the Classic generation will be seen a shrewd move given the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown over the same trip, a race normally viewed as the first clash of the generations, will not this year be an option for three-year-olds as it will this year be run just 24 hours after the Epsom Derby.

Thus, as today's HRI missive put it, the move will have the effect of "filling a significant gap in the revised Pattern".

While a new date has had to be found for the Tattersalls Gold Cup, HRI confirmed that the majority of Group 1 races retain their original dates. They also said that early July will signal the start of the two-year-old Pattern.

Having missed 87 fixtures since March 24, racing resumes in Ireland behind closed doors on June 8.

“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," HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh said.

“Apart from the three Group 1 races normally run on Guineas weekend, all other Group 1 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.”