Hi all,
Saturday brings us the final British Classic, the Betfred St Leger at Doncaster. However, in today’s main piece, I’ll preview the Irish Champion Stakes.
We have a fantastic weekend of Group 1 racing, most notably at Leopardstown and Curragh for the Irish Champions Weekend, as well as Arc Trial’s Day at Longchamp. I previewed the St Leger in Wednesday’s column, and Illinois remains the one to beat, though Sunway, with Christophe Soumillon aboard, is my pick.
ITV will cover five races from Doncaster and two from Chester on Saturday, plus possibly the Irish Champion Stakes (3:25) from Leopardstown, which promises to be the highlight of the weekend.
Irish Champion Stakes (Group 1) – 1m 2f
Economics, impressive in the Dante and back with a Group 2 win at Deauville last month, heads the betting. There’s surely plenty more to come from this exciting 3-year-old.
Auguste Rodin, a six-time Group 1 winner, including this race last year. He can throw in a stinker as he did in the King George at Ascot last time for the second year running. The pick of Ryan Moore and likley to be back to his best.
Luxembourg, who won this race in 2022 and runner-up last year, gets first-time cheekpieces and has each way claims.
Los Angeles, the Irish Derby winner, will need a strongly run race to overcome the drop back in trip.
Ghostwriter, 3rd in the International Stakes to City Of Troy, has each-way claims but comes from a yard struggling for winners.
Shin Emperor, from Japan, adds international intrigue and could sneak into the frame. However, this could be a prep for an Arc bid.
Saturday’s ‘Lay or Play’
I said in yesterday’s column that we’re getting closer to one of them going in and one popped up at Chester on Friday afternoon. It wasn’t a big price, so no damage was done, and the other three qualifiers lost.
Saturday sees seven qualifiers, so let’s see how they fare.
Good luck with your Saturday bets.
John