The Irish horse racing broadcaster offers his three selections from the Irish Champions Festival on Sunday.
The 2024 Irish Champions Festival (Irish Champions Weekend just sounded better, didn’t it?) gets under way with a fascinating clash on the opening Leopardstown card in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champions Stakes, and despite the smallish field the 1m2f showpiece is far from a straightforward puzzle for punters to solve.
Auguste Rodin might live in the shadow of his stable-mate City Of Troy somewhat these days but he is still a six-time Group 1 winner and is bidding to land this marquee event for the second year in a row. The rub is that he comes here on the back another of the blow-outs that have punctuated his career in Ascot’s King George in July and now has a formidable adversary standing in his way in Economics, who has looked such a talented colt with his wins at York and Deauville this year.
William Haggas and Tom Marquand will be well aware of what happened here twelve months ago, when the trio of British raiders were unable to land a meaningful blow from off the pace, and the favourite will surely have to keep closer tabs on the Ballydoyle contingent than they did. He appeals as possibly the most talented member of the line-up, and that latest effort was reassuring after finishing with blood at the nose after the Dante, but with the likes of Juddmonte International third Ghostwriter, Irish Derby hero Los Angeles and Japanese raider Shin Emperor also in opposition it’s a race I’m happy to watch.
Whatever the fate of Economics, the same trainer/jockey combination are fancied to get on the scoresheet in the Group 2 Solonoway Stakes courtesy of MALJOOM. While clearly a difficult horse to train, this lightly-raced five year-old has put together a more convincing cv than chief rival Diego Velazquez and it’s easy enough to forgive his latest effort on his first attempt over 1m2f against City Of Troy and co. Hopefully the new headgear helps him break a bit better this time.
In the day’s other Group 1, the Coolmore America Justify Matron Stakes, it might be worth chancing VESPERTILIO each-way at a big price. She was a smart juvenile last term, scoring at Group 2 level before splitting Fallen Angel and Porta Fortuna in the Moyglare Stud Stakes, and made an excellent start to 2024 when a close third in the ‘Pouliches’ at Longchamp. Two lesser efforts followed but the fact that Billy Lee seemingly prefers her to unbeaten stable-mate Jancis suggests that a return to top form can reasonably be anticipated after a two-month layoff.
Racing concludes with three big field handicaps, and in the first of them over 1m5f FIGHTER is of some interest after his breakthrough win at the Curragh three weeks ago. The fitting of blinkers for the first time seemed to have a transformative effect on the Frankel gelding, who is a half-brother to Irish Derby hero Trading Leather, on that occasion and if the headgear works as well again he could prove well treated off an initial mark of 90. Wayne Hassett, currently leading the apprentice jockeys championship, takes off a handy 5lb too.
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