HOPES are high for another Japanese runner in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes as the 50 initial entries for the €1.25 million highlight on the opening day of Irish Champions Festival features the Yoshito Yahagi-trained Shin Emperor.

With numerous big-race wins in his home country and international Grade 1 success to his name in Hong Kong and at the Breeders’ Cup in the USA, the distinctive Yahagi has now set his sights on Leopardstown on Saturday, September 14th, with the three-year-old which finished third in the Japanese Derby last weekend.

Shin Emperor would 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.

The international appeal of the race is further emphasised by an entry of two horses trained in South Africa and five from France.

The South African entries are the dual Grade 1 winners Double Superlative and See It Again, the latter trained by Michael Roberts, the former British champion jockey, who won the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes on the Henry Cecil-trained Indian Skimmer in 1988.

The quintet of French possibles are headed by the US$5m Dubai Turf winner Facteur Cheval, trained by Jerome Reynier, the Alex Pantall-trained Fast Tracker, a leading hope for this Sunday’s Prix Du Jockey Club at Chantilly and French 2000 Guineas winner Metropolitan, trained by Mario Baratti.

The entry from Britain numbers 17 with leading Epsom Derby hopes Ambiente Friendly and Dancing Gemini, the runaway Dante winner Economics, star fillies Inspiral, Emily Upjohn and last year’s third Nashwa, Irish 2000 Guineas runner-up Haatem and Group 1 winner Anmaat among them.

An entry of 14 Aidan O’Brien-trained horses is headed by his big Epsom Derby hopes City Of Troy and Los Angeles. O’Brien has also entered Henry Longfellow, Auguste Rodin and Ylang Ylang, the leading contender for the Epsom Oaks.

John Murphy’s improver White Birch, the impressive recent winner of the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh and Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa are just two more notable entries.

Irish St Leger

A total of 64 horses have been given an initial entry for the Comer Group International Irish St Leger on day two of Irish Champions Festival at the Curragh on Sunday, September 15th.

Aidan O’Brien holds a strong early hand with last year’s runner-up and 2022 winner Kyprios, last season’s Doncaster St Leger hero Continuous and his leading Epsom Derby hope Los Angeles among his entry of 22.

Willie Mullins has made five entries in the race with Vauban, Absurde and the less exposed Lope De Lilas being among them, Jessica Harrington has both Yashin and the unbeaten three-year-old Birdman, while Adrian Murray has an interesting trio, Crypto Force, Elegant Man.

There are 13 British-trained entries headed by Trawlerman, Gregory and Middle Earth from the John and Thady Gosden yard, the William Haggas-trained Hamish and Marco Botti’s Giavellotto.

There are four entries from Germany, with Alessio, Waldadler and Nastaria, first, second and third respectively in the Group 2 Comer Group International 53rd Oleander-Rennen at Hoppegarten in mid-May, and Lordano, the winner of the Group 2 Carl Jaspers Preis at Cologne in April all engaged.