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Long-time favourite Economics, Japanese raider Shin Emperor and Aidan O'Brien’s Auguste Rodin and Los Angeles are among the 12 horses standing their ground for the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes on the opening day of Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown on Saturday, a World Pool event for all nine races.
Bidding to become the first British-trained winner of the race since Roaring Lion in 2018, William Haggas’ Economics is set to step up to Group 1 company for the first time after back-to-back Group 2 victories at York in May and Deauville last month with the Clive Cox-trained Ghostwriter and Karl Burke’s Royal Rhyme adding to the British challenge.
Dropping back to 10 furlongs after taking third place in the Japanese Derby in May, the Yoshito Yahagi-trained Shin Emperor will become the second Japanese runner in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes after Deirdre, which ran a big race behind wonder mare Magical in 2019. He will be a first ride in Ireland for 27-year-old jockey Ryusei Sakai.
A trio of French contenders also go forward to Thursday morning’s declaration stage. Zarakem and Facteur Cheval are possible runners for trainer Jerome Reynier with Metropolitan, the French 2,000 Guineas winner, still there for Mario Baratti.
Ten years on from the first of his five wins in the race on Kevin Ryan’s The Grey Gatsby, Ryan Moore will have the pick of Aidan O'Brien’s remaining team of five. Auguste Rodin gave the champion trainer his 12th win in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes a year ago and he looks a likely runner once again along with Los Angeles which backed up his Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby success at the Curragh in June with a taking win at York last month. The other Ballydoyle contenders are the 2022 winner and last year’s runner-up Luxembourg, Continuous, and Hans Andersen.
Heading the remaining 14 hopefuls for the Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron Stakes, the first of six Group 1 races at Irish Champions Festival, is Donnacha O'Brien’s Porta Fortuna which is seeking a hat-trick of top-level wins, and a fourth Group 1 in all, after recent success at Royal Ascot and Newmarket’s July meeting.
Rematch
The Karl Burke-trained Fallen Angel had Porta Fortuna behind her when winning the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at last year’s Irish Champions Festival and the pair bring their Curragh rivalry to Leopardstown this time. Recently acquired by Wathnan Racing, Fallen Angel is another on the comeback trail having been absent since her win in the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh in May. Ylang Ylang is Aidan O'Brien’s remaining contender while two from the Willie McCreery yard, the unbeaten Jancis and Vespertilio, also stand their ground along with three from Joseph O'Brien’s stable, including Rogue Millennium, and the George Boughey-trained Soprano.
Day two of Irish Champions Festival at the Curragh is centred around the Comer Group International Irish St Leger with Kyprios out to put his odds-on defeat in the race last year behind him. The winner of the 2022 renewal, he chased home the Roger Varian-trained Eldar Eldarov 12 months ago and the world’s leading stayer could now come up against opposition including the Marco Botti-trained Giavellotto, Willie Mullins’ Vauban, the Karl Burke-trained Al Qareem, and two German-trained runners Waldadler and Nastaria.
Archie Watson’s dual Group 1 winner Bradsell and the George Boughey-trained Believing head the British challenge for the Group 1 Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes. They could be joined in the final line up by the Clive Cox-trained Jasour, another among a typically strong raiding party. In all, 20 horses stand their ground and leading the home defence could be last year’s winner Moss Tucker, trained by Ken Condon and Adrian Murray’s Bucanero Fuerte, successful in last year’s Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes. Both horses are three-time Curragh winners while a two-time winner at the course, Givemethebeatboys, was added to the field this morning by trainer Jessica Harrington.
The winner of the Group 2 Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes at the Curragh last month, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Bedtime Story bids to stretch out her unbeaten record to five in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes. O'Brien dominates the entries with six of the remaining eight with the Group 3 winner Lake Victoria among them. Ger Lyons has left in Red Letter while trainer Ollie Sangster has today added Simmering, a Group 2 winner when ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle at Deauville last month.
Unbeaten in three starts at the Curragh, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Henri Matisse heads the remaining 10 horses in the Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes. The dual Group 2 winner could be joined by stable companions Rock Of Cashel and The Parthenon while Joseph O'Brien has both Cowardofthecounty and Scorthy Champ in the mix with Hill Road and Loch Tay possible runners for Adrian Murray and Jessica Harrington respectively.
Owned by Godolphin and trained by Charlie Appleby, Aomori City was supplemented for the race today and could head a British challenge comprising of Wolf Of Badenoch and Seagulls Eleven, both trained by Hugo Palmer.
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