By Cornelius Lysaght BBC racing correspondent

Kingsgate Native was the only British-trained Group One winner at Royal Ascot

On the one hand, it's been pretty dismal with rather less than a handful of the best, Group One prizes staying at home as most go west to the might of Ireland.

But for the sport's spin doctors and cheerleaders there is an altogether brighter angle to pursue.

They point out that trainers Aidan O'Brien, Jim Bolger and others who've come visiting and plundering from Ireland and elsewhere have indeed come visiting and plundering here, and not anywhere else.

That means, they insist, that racing in Britain is the strongest and the most prestigious there is.

And in case that argument is not entirely convincing, there's more, they say, around four months more in fact as the campaign stretches ahead through Group One opportunities at Goodwood, York, Doncaster and Newmarket.

OK, fair enough; but the stats are still stark.

By Midsummer's Day, only Creachadoir in Newbury's Lockinge Stakes, Look Here (the Epsom Oaks) and Kingsgate Native (the Golden Jubilee Stakes, Royal Ascot) were home-trained top level victors. And Creachadoir is part of Sheikh Mohammed's Dubai-based Godolphin stable.

Why? Well, the main answer has to be that Ireland is riding on the crest of a lucrative wave, reaping the rewards of generous inward investment in thoroughbred racing and breeding.

After years of building, O'Brien's Ballydoyle Stables - part of the giant Coolmore racing and breeding empire - is reaching something approaching perfection.

Witness six Royal Ascot successes (four of them Group One), and the reality that even marginally lesser talents, like Eclipse Stakes winner Mount Nelson, are shining.

606: DEBATE Henrythenavigator and The Duke have been fantastic but they will surely have a break after winning the Sussex and King George respectively. MPCM

Meanwhile, Bolger's acclaimed skills are being further bolstered by his early recognition that the Coolmore stallion Galileo is passing on the smartest of genes to his progeny, notably to the trainer's Epsom Derby winner New Approach.

But, that said, British racing can still take heart from some narrow near-misses.

The one that springs most readily to mind is Tartan Bearer who, but for New Approach, would have been a good winner of the Epsom Derby for trainer Sir Michael Stoute.

And, once again, the sprint division, led by Kingsgate Native, looks pretty watertight.

Just one thought about Aidan O'Brien. I was asked whether his domination is getting boring.

A good question for Wimbledon finals weekend, when it was asked. Answer: no, not boring, rather awesome... a bit like watching Roger Federer for five successive championships until 2008.

Flat racing is in wild admiration mode, but it's also tantalised by the prospect that racing's equivalent of Rafael Nadal may well be lurking just around the corner.