SATURDAY’s top-class racing on the opening day of Irish Champions Festival was characterised by a vibrant spread of winning connections and attention-grabbing finishes, the themes set by Chavez in the Listed Ballylinch Stud Irish EBF Ingabelle Stakes.

The Newtown Anner Stud-owned bay was sent off the 6/5 favourite to become Ger Lyons’ third winner of the seven furlong contest for juvenile fillies, and Colin Keane oozed confidence as he cruised behind the leaders turning for home.

Quickening smartly to challenge, she gave supporters cause for concern when jinking right a furlong from home, before hanging back towards her rivals.

Success came comfortably though, and her rivals never lost momentum, as she kept on to beat Garden Of Eden (25/1) by three parts of a length, with Bubbling (9/4) a head further back in third.

Surprised

“She’s a lovely filly,” Lyons commented. “I’m surprised at how green she ran; on her first two starts she hasn’t shown any greenness, but Colin said she spotted the photographers. She did everything wrong today and still won.”

The result emphasised the calibre of juvenile fillies in Lyons’ Kiltale yard, with Red Letter well-fancied in the Moyglare Stud Stakes the following day, while Babouche extended her unbeaten record in the Phoenix Stakes. As Lyons noted earlier in the season, “they come like buses,” and he has learnt to appreciate when things go his way.

“We had the four winners here one year. I should have enjoyed them more, I certainly should have enjoyed the four-timer more because last year reminded you that having four winners in a month is good sometimes, never mind in a day.”

ONE of the most exciting elements of Saturday’s winners was that the majority seemed to be on an upward curve, with no signs of stopping. The future certainly looks bright for Jessica Harrington’s Green Impact (5/2), who beat a select but promising field in the Group 2 KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes.

“It’s so easy in a four-horse-race to get into a pocket, but we had that plan,” Harrington said in the aftermath. The plan employed by Shane Foley was to break smartly and race prominently, eventually settling behind the front-running Bernard Shaw. Pushed along turning for home, the imposing Green Impact was ridden to lead entering the final furlong and kept on well under urgings to beat the staying-on favourite Delacroix by half a length.

“It’s lovely to get one on the board this weekend, because it’s very tough and very competitive racing,” Harrington immediately noted. “He was always a lovely horse, very laidback, very easy to train.”

Both Harrington and Jamie McCalmont, representing owner-breeder Marc Chan, were quick to rule out Green Impact running again this season. “He’s a very big horse and I think we probably haven’t seen the best of him yet,” Harrington said. “We can dream all winter.”

Chan, who was watching from Hong Kong, will have particularly enjoyed Saturday’s success, as Green Impact is the first horse he has ever bred. Raised at Norelands Stud, he completed a quickfire double for sire sensation Wootton Bassett, who was also responsible for Chavez in the opener.

LAST year’s Champions Juvenile Stakes victor Diego Velazquez gained his second Irish Champions Festival success when justifying 10/11 favouritism in the Group 2 Tonybet Solonaway Stakes under Ryan Moore.

Beaten just a length in the French 2000 Guineas, Aidan O’Brien’s charge was unsuited by heavy ground next time and didn’t appear to stay at Ascot, but bounced back with a seven-length win in the Group 3 Meld Stakes last time out.

He was drawn widest of 12 on Saturday, but needed little encouragement to go forward and take close order behind last year’s winner Flight Plan, the field quickening as they turned for home. The British raider began to fade by the final furlong marker, as Diego Velazquez finished strongly to score by a length and a half, while Ger Lyons’ ultra-consistent Mutasarref ran on for second.

“He’s a speed horse,” Aidan O’Brien said of the winner. “He’s very genuine, very straightforward, a good-moving horse.”

Saturday’s success opens the possibility of international targets, too, O’Brien noted. “He could go to a Breeders’ Cup Mile, he could go to a Cox Plate.”

Later in the week the trainer ruled out the Cox Plate as the deadline for entering quarantine had passed.

First and last handicap for Fighter

Stablemate Fighter may also be bound overseas, after running out an impressive four-length winner of the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Petingo Handicap under 5lb claimer Wayne Hassett.

“We probably won’t see him in a handicap again,” O’Brien said with a smile, following the front-running three-year-old’s easy victory, where listed-winning favourite Chemistry completed a 1-2 for Ballydoyle.

A Frankel half-brother to Trading Leather, the bay won off a mark of 91, which rose to 105 by Monday afternoon. “This fella will probably go to Australia or somewhere like that,” O’Brien said of future plans.

It marked a second premier handicap win of the season for apprentice Wayne Hassett, who partnered the Joseph O’Brien-trained Mexicali Rose to victory in the Colm Quinn BMW Mile at Galway.

WITHOUT any research, I’d be confident in saying that not many Tramore maiden hurdle winners have held their own against not one, but two Leger winners, before landing a Group 3 en route to an international campaign.

That’s the unorthodox route taken by Joseph O’Brien’s progressive four-year-old Trustyourinstinct (3/1 favourite), whose deserved blacktype win came in the Group 3 Tonybet Stakes.

O’Brien later revealed he was unsure that the step up to a mile and a half would suit Trustyourinstinct after two close seconds to Jan Brueghel and Illinois in Group 3 Curragh contests over 10 furlongs. His concern dissipated as J.P. and Noreen McManus’s homebred quickened to lead a furlong from home and ran on well to beat longtime leader Kinesiology by a length and three quarters, while Thunder Roll and Sumiha finished strongly for third and fourth respectively.

Return to hurdles unlikely

“He deserved a big win and I’m delighted to get a big win this weekend for J.P. as well,” said O’Brien. On whether a return to hurdling would be considered, the trainer commented: “He’s obviously a very talented horse, but he’s not the most natural jumper in the world, so whether he’ll come back for a big handicap hurdle at some stage, I’m not sure.

“We’ll enjoy the flat with him for the reast of the season anyhow. He qualifies for a lot of big pots around the world as we get into the autumn, so he could end up in a race internationally.”

JOHNNY Feane appears to have an exciting filly on his hands in the shape of Vera’s Secret, who made all for an impressive success in the HKJC World Pool Autumn Fillies & Mares Handicap.

The five-year-old ran out a six-and-a-half length winner on her seasonal return at the Curragh in July, before racing too keenly in the Irish Cambridgeshire, and was sent off 10/1 to bounce back under Nathan Crosse. Ridden clear from the two-furlong marker, victory never looked in doubt as she kept on to beat last year’s Chesham Stakes heroine Snellen by three lengths and three quarters.

Feane later described the winner as “very talented”, adding “She relaxed and Nathan gave her a beautiful ride. She has a lovely, big action and her forte is her cruising speed - she put that to good use today and she quickened up well off the bend.”

On whether he considered her to be a stakes filly, the trainer replied, “I hope so. Garry [O’Gorman] will probably have his way with her again, so we’ll see.” Feane was referring to the handicapper, who raised her mark from 83 to 96 for the win.

Vera’s Secret continues Feane’s success for owner/breeder Kilnamoragh Stud, their past fillies including listed winner Bounce The Blues, who went on to win two group races for Andrew Balding, while Miss O’Connor was sold after her debut win and went on to win two stakes for William Haggas.

DANCE Night Andday (12/1) justified connections’ decision to swerve another stakes race in favour of a big pot when landing the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Sovereign Path Handicap in dramatic fashion under Ronan Whelan.

It added yet another notable win to Ross O’Sullivan’s career-best season, and was particularly special for owners Peter and Elizabeth Jones, as they also bred the four-year-old. They may have been rueing their choice of target when drawing stall 20, leaving their mare with plenty to do a furlong out, but she flew home to lead by a head on the line. Incredibly, Peter Jones also bred the third horse, Garfield Shadow.

Great race

“It’s a great race to watch when it comes off,” a relieved O’Sullivan said with a grin. “I suppose the pace was strong, they did 10 seconds at one stage, and it suited us. Ronnie was unbelievable on her, like a slingshot off the bend; it often happens at Leopardstown, they just come at you.”

A return to stakes company is now on the agenda for Dance Night Andday, who gained blacktype when second in last month’s Platinum Stakes at Cork.