World class fields set for day one of Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown
Green Impact, Wyman and Hotazhell will be action for trainer Jessica Harrrington at Leopardstown on Saturday on Day 1 of the Irish Champions Festival Preview Photo: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Get ready for a feast of the highest quality racing for day one of Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown on Saturday, September 12.
“We are really delighted with today’s declarations for the first day of Irish Champions Festival,” said Mark Clayton, CEO of Leopardstown.
“The quality of the rematches in the most established Group 1 races speak for themselves. We are also thrilled with ten confirmed for the first running of the HKJC World Pool Golden Fleece Stakes. We have 15 horses travelling from Britain for the meeting and, in terms of World Pool betting, the field sizes are healthy throughout.”
All nine races at Leopardstown will be open to World Pool betting on the Tote.
“Irish Champions Festival showcases world class Irish racing and we’re delighted that World Pool will once again be in operation across two days of top-class action from Leopardstown and the Curragh,” said Jon Knapman, Head of Commingling at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
“A total of 13 World Pool races from Ireland feature across the weekend and, with the HKJC World Pool Golden Fleece Stakes being upgraded to Group 1 status this season, no less than seven of them are Group 1s.”
The Leopardstown card of nine races commences at 1.35pm on Saturday.
Ballydoyle has won six of the last seven editions and four of those started favourite.
The Juddmonte International is always one of the world’s highest-ranking races, so to have the first three from York show up at Leopardstown is quite a coup. Round Two of this rumble should be something to behold.
As an Eclipse winner who came undone at York, Constitution River has a similar profile to Delacroix who triumphed here a year ago for Aidan O’Brien.
Much has been said about the race tactics that went wrong on the Knavesmire.
“I accept the responsibility for putting in a pacemaker that wasn’t good enough at York,” O’Brien said last week.
“Constitution River was too far forward. And he was in a gear too high. Hopefully, we won’t make the same mistake twice.” Hawk Mountain and Lambourn, last year’s dual Derby winner, have also been declared by the Tipperary stable.
Andrew Balding’s Item and Almaqam, trained by Ed Walker, finished one-two at York with just a head between them and over three lengths back to Constitution River. Item’s only defeat in six starts came on soft ground in the Epsom Derby. Almaqam’s sole visit to Ireland yielded a Group 1 victory in the Tattersalls Gold Cup in May.
Hotazhell, trained by Jessica Harrington, arrives here a Group 1 winner in Germany most recently, while A Boy Named Susie brings strong form although he finished behind Constitution River at Chantilly and Sandown.
Wimbledon Hawkeye, supplemented at a cost of €75,000 by trainer George Scott, won a Group 3 at Deauville on his most recent start.
Honours have been quite evenly spread with eight different stables taking this prize in the past decade. Aidan O’Brien has not won since Hydrangea triumphed in 2017. The last three favourites have all collected.
This is an excellent contest. Andrew Balding’s Blue Bolt brings the best recent form and bids for a Group 1 hat-trick. In her last two starts she has defeated the star Ballydoyle filly Precise in the Falmouth Stakes and the Prix Rothschild.
Precise already has four Group 1 titles on her CV and she will be joined by her stable companion True Love, the 1,000 Guineas heroine at Newmarket.
Fallen Angel won this race last year and ran second in 2024. She has only run twice this season and will benefit from any rain. Her trainer, Karl Burke, also won this race with Laurens in 2018.
Paddy Twomey earmarked City Of Memphis for this test earlier in the season. The trainer has form springing a surprise in this event given Pearls Galore scored at odds of 16-1 in 2022.
Ireland’s newest Group 1 has attracted a strong field of ten for its inauguration.
Darkness Falls displayed immense potential when bolting up in a Curragh maiden by seven lengths just a fortnight ago. He appears the main hope from four Ballydoyle runners.
Charlie Appleby and Godolphin have responded to the automatic entry offered to the unbeaten Quest For Stars for winning the Listed Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury.
Trainer Fozzy Stack’s strapping colt Nola Soul broke his maiden at this track before landing the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Green Dreamer is another with winning course form for Joseph O’Brien. He ran on very strongly from the rear over seven furlongs in a Group 2 at the Curragh last time and the extra yardage here should suit.
Pikachu represents Amo Racing and Charlie Johnston and is rated 106.
Ger Lyons and Aidan O’Brien have dominated this race with three wins apiece in the last seven years.
Lyons sends out the likely favourite, Maire Rua, representing Juddmonte at the start of what could be a huge weekend for the enterprise. She won at this course and distance in July but didn’t get the breaks when third in a Listed race at Cork last time.
Ballydoyle won this event last year with the brilliant Diamond Necklace, subsequently successful in four consecutive Group 1 races. Ibelieveicanfly is the mount of Ryan Moore with one win from five starts, although she ran a close fourth in a Group 2 most recently.
Timeless Tale represents Willie McCreery. She demolished her rivals on her only start, a Naas maiden last month, by eight lengths and brings any amount of potential.
Sheila Lavery, meanwhile, will saddle Maeda Matsu. Runner-up in the Ballyhane Stakes on debut at 100-1, she backed up that favourable initial impression with a maiden victory at Naas on August 23.
Ten different stables have lifted this handicap over the last decade, three of them based in England. No market favourite prevailed in that time.
Johnny Murtagh landed this last year with Rahmi. He was rated 112 after last year’s success and has slipped to a current mark of 93. The Curragh trainer also fields Sindagan, the mount of Ben Coen, successful in a Galway maiden before a respectable effort at Listed level latest.
Another of the likely early favourites, Benevento, has been in good form during the summer for trainer Robson de Aguiar. The same could be said of Krasimir who never runs a bad race but has yet to win for Ger Lyons. He lurks dangerously at the bottom of the weights.
Of the English raiders, any ease in the going will suit Vafortino, third in the Ahonoora Handicap at Galway for Charlie Johnston, but there are any number of chances in this big field of 18.
Aidan O’Brien (four wins) and Dermot Weld (three wins) have been the leading players in this race since 2016. Those high up the betting have been favoured with six favourites successful in that time.
This appears an extremely strong Group 3. Purview would not have looked out of place in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes later in the programme and he will likely start a strong favourite. Listed and Group 3 wins at Curragh have prompted Dermot Weld to dream big: he has mentioned a shot at the Breeders’ Cup Turf as a possible option should everything go well here.
A Group 3 victor at this venue in the spring, James J Braddock placed third in the Derby at Epsom for Joseph O’Brien and comes here after a layoff and a gelding operation. He is reportedly bound for a tilt at the Melbourne Cup after this.
Last year’s Melbourne Cup runner-up, Goodie Two Shoes, a Group 2 winner at Goodwood for Joseph O’Brien will take her chance along with Charlie Appleby’s Arabian Crown.
Thread Of Gold makes the leap to Pattern class for the first time after two big handicap wins during the summer for Willie Mullins.
English-trained runners have won five of the last ten renewals with Aidan O’Brien taking the race twice for the home team.
Isaac Newton is likely to start favourite judged on how well he captured the Group 3 Bahrain Turf Club Desmond Stakes at this course and distance in August. Dropping back in trip to a mile produced a career best and he sets a strong standard.
A Group 1 winner last term, Power Blue added a Group 2 on his penultimate start and will command respect.
Simon and Ed Crisford took home this race in 2022 via Jadoomi for owner Sheikh Ahmed al Maktoum. They seek to repeat that feat with Quddwah who has not been seen out since chasing home the brilliant Ombudsman in the Group 1 Dubai Turf in March.
Two wins apiece for Willie Mullins and Jessica Harrington in this race over the past decade with no market leader successful.
Horses from big-hitting stables feature prominently in the early betting for this staying handicap.
Cannes, a Listed runner-up at this venue over 1m6f to Highwayman who contests the St Leger at Doncaster the same afternoon, is of automatic interest from the Joseph O’Brien team.
This time last year The Reverend was a staying handicapper of some potential in England. He then switched to Willie Mullins for a maiden hurdle success but has not been seen out since unseating his rider in a Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Charlie Johnston describes Evanesco as “unexposed over a staying distance on easier ground” and he should get his ideal conditions on Saturday.
Wyman also ran with credit in the Vinnie Roe Stakes for Jessica Harrington and is one of many with claims.
There have been just two editions of this race to date.
Suzie Songs, a Listed winner last time out, looks well placed here for Ger Lyons and rates the early favourite.
Rebel Wave has won her last two starts for Willie McCreery while the form of Aviatrice, trained by David Marnane, reads well. She gave weight when a close second to runaway Irish Cambridgeshire winner Loughrea over this course and distance in July.
Pink Oxalis won last year for Stephen Thorne at 22-1 and will line up again. Again, this is a contest that is very open.
