Super Moore four-timer tops Curragh showcase

The closing day of Irish Champions Festival belonged to the O’Briens and Ryan Moore, but above all it belonged to Scandinavia.

As Moore completed a magnificent four-timer at the Curragh and Joseph O’Brien saddled a training treble, the standout performance came from the horse who is rapidly establishing himself as the dominant force in the staying division.

Scandinavia’s victory in the Group 1 Comer Group International Irish St Leger was the headline act, the son of Justify extending his winning run to eight races and collecting a fifth top-level success in the process.

There was a sense of inevitability about it. Sent off the 4-11 favourite, Aidan O’Brien’s star stayer was expected to deliver and he duly obliged in the most professional fashion imaginable.

Moore never appeared concerned as he tracked stablemate Queenstown through the early stages before asking his mount to edge closer approaching the straight. Once Scandinavia moved to the front inside the final two furlongs, the result was effectively settled.

The margin at the line was two lengths, but the superiority was greater than the bare figures suggest. Queenstown held second, with Jan Brueghel completing a Ballydoyle one-two-three, as Scandinavia again demonstrated the qualities that have made him the benchmark among Europe’s stayers.

For Moore, it was another polished performance on a day when everything seemed to go right.

The champion jockey had already struck aboard Joseph O’Brien’s exciting juvenile Star Of State in the Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes before partnering Aidan O’Brien’s Sun Goddess to Group 1 glory in the Moyglare Stud Stakes in what was a brilliant display from the filly.

Scandinavia supplied winner number three, but Moore was not finished.

He rounded off his day by guiding Joseph O’Brien’s Oaks heroine Thundering On to victory in the Group 2 Blandford Stakes, sealing a four-timer that underlined once again why he remains the rider for the biggest occasions.

If Moore enjoyed a memorable afternoon in the saddle, Joseph O’Brien was equally impressive in the training ranks.

The Carriganóg handler completed a treble through Star Of State, Thundering On and Group 1 National Stakes winner Folsom Blues, continuing what has been another outstanding campaign for the former champion jockey turned trainer to deliver a first group one for jockey Joey Sheridan.

Star Of State justified prohibitive favouritism with a straightforward success in the valuable sales race, while Folsom Blues announced himself as one of the leading juveniles to beat his slow starting stablemate Monogram.

Thundering On then completed the treble when bouncing back from her Pretty Polly disappointment to remind racegoers of the quality that carried her to Oaks glory at Epsom earlier in the summer.

Her success has put the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe firmly on the agenda, with connections hopeful she can make her presence felt on racing’s biggest stage next month.

Yet even amid Joseph O’Brien’s training treble and Moore’s four-timer, it was Scandinavia who lingered longest in the memory.

The curtain came down on Irish Champions Festival with another notable success for County Meath trainer Tony Martin.

His 40-1 outsider Orandi caused a surprise in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Northfields Premier Handicap over 1m2f under Robbie Colgan.

While there were standout performances across the two days, Scandinavia’s latest Group 1 triumph may ultimately prove the most significant.

Eight straight victories, a seemingly limitless stamina reserve and continued improvement suggest the Irish St Leger winner could yet have even greater achievements ahead of him if Sunday was anything to go by.