Hi all,
Inside today’s main piece, I’m kicking off a two-part review of a big weekend of racing across Europe. Today’s focus is on Saturday’s St Leger and the Irish Champion Stakes.
What a weekend!
Saturday brought us the St Leger at Doncaster and the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. Sunday followed with juvenile pointers at The Curragh and Arc Trials Day at Longchamp.
Doncaster’s St Leger Meeting
Doncaster is an ideal track. It’s flat, galloping, and has a long straight, so hard-luck stories are rare. Credit to the course for providing a decent surface for the first three days. But, after Sunday’s rain and likely plenty of summer watering, the track quickly deteriorated.
However, overall, the quality of Doncaster’s St Leger meeting left much to be desired. The handicaps were competitive enough, but many of the other races were uninspiring.
The meeting doesn’t justify four days. Sunday’s final day was centered around the Leger Legends race, a Class 5, and an average-looking Group 3 for fillies and mares. The Group 2 Champagne Stakes suffered from competition with Leopardstown’s Champions Juvenile, while the May Hill Stakes on Thursday clashed with the Curragh’s Moyglare Stakes.
We often hear that the St Leger is “The World's Oldest Classic.” However, it has become a poor relation among the Classics. Its 1m 6f distance doesn’t appeal to breeders, and it clashes with Irish Champions Weekend. As a result, top British based jockeys are often across the Irish Sea.
To give the race more prominence, it could be moved to a Friday evening slot. Either that or Aidan O’Brien has a horse that’s done the 2,000 Guineas/Derby Double and heads to Doncaster for the Triple Crown.
For now, though, the crowds continue to flock to Town Moor, which shows the race’s enduring appeal, even if the quality is lacking. The clicking of turnstiles will be music to the ears of the bean counters at Arena Leisure.
St Leger Recap
As expected, Aidan O’Brien dominated this year’s St Leger. Jan Brueghel and Illinois fought out a thrilling finish, with Jan Brueghel prevailing by a neck.
Grosvenor Square was expected to set a strong gallop, but he only set an even pace. Was it poor riding from jockey Gavin Ryan or were the instructions to set a pace that suited his stablemates? That’s up for debate.
Illinois took over 3f out and looked to be going better than his rivals. However, Jan Brueghel’s stamina kicked in, and he outstayed Illinois at the finish. Illinois was just beaten by the better horse on the day.
Jan Brueghel, unbeaten in four starts, thrived on Doncaster’s flat, galloping track. He’s an improving stayer who should do even better as a 4-year-old. Whether that’s as Cup horse or back at 1m 4f we’ll have to wait and see. Illinois may also improve next season but likely over shorter than 1m 6f.
I have seen plenty of great St Leger’s in 40 years of punting. In all honesty, this wasn’t one that will live long in the memory.
Leopardstown Delivers Thrilling Irish Champion Stakes
Saturday’s Irish Champion Stakes gave us a race to remember, with a very smart winner. Economics, the up-and-coming star, took the honours. You can watch the race here.
He had impressed at York in the Dante and justified William Haggas’s decision to skip the Derby. On Saturday, we saw not only his raw ability but also his grit. He had to battle to beat last year’s winner, Auguste Rodin, by a neck. It’s rare to see Auguste Rodin lose a tight finish, which says a lot about Economics.
Economics stays in training next season and looks likely to thrive over 1m 4f. For now, he’ll head to Ascot for the Champion Stakes on Champions Day.
Japanese raider Shin Emperor ran a superb race to finish third, despite being slightly boxed in 1f out. Given that it was Ryusei Sakai’s first ride at Leopardstown, the result might have been different with a bit more track knowledge. This was an excellent prep for his main European target, the Arc.
Los Angeles found things happening too quickly over 1m 2f but stayed on to finish fourth. He needs 1m 4f and would likely have won the St Leger. Like Shin Emperor, he’s surely heading to Longchamp for the Arc.
City Of Troy or Economics?
Both Economics and City of Troy are outstanding colts, but their strengths differ, making it difficult to say which is the better horse.
The Irish Champion Stakes had greater depth than York's International Stakes, featuring a more competitive field with proven Group 1 performers like Auguste Rodin and the impressive Japanese contender Shin Emperor. However, the debate hinges on whether Auguste Rodin is a superior horse to Calandagan, City of Troy’s main rival at York. I’d argue that Calandagan is the better horse, making City of Troy’s victory at York stand out even more.
In the Irish Champion, Shin Emperor was slightly unlucky, and Los Angeles found 1m 2f too sharp. The fact that only 3 lengths separated the first seven home also suggests the race was more tightly contested.
Economics is clearly top-class, winning the race on merit, but a clash between Economics, City of Troy, and Calandagan would be thrilling—though sadly, we’ll never see it.
In conclusion: while Economics won an arguably tougher race, City of Troy’s visually striking performance, especially against Calandagan, might just give him the edge. Both are undoubtedly elite, but City of Troy’s brilliance shines through a bit more for me.
Tough Weekend on the Punting Front
From a punting perspective, it was tough days for me. I misjudged the weather, the draw, and found myself backing drifters. To put it simply, I got everything wrong. Even the laying was tough albeit I finished fractionally ahead on that front.
Despite my losses, I still enjoyed the racing. That enthusiasm is key because once it fades, confidence follows. Onward to Ayr’s Western Meeting!
Monday Racing
It’s horse racing on the beach on Monday teatime at Laytown. The Laytown Races are a unique and iconic horse racing event held annually on the beach in Laytown in Ireland. It's the only official beach race meeting in Europe and has been a part of Irish racing tradition for over 150 years.
The races take place on a 1-mile stretch of the sandy beach at Laytown, along the Irish Sea. The course is prepared by nature, with the tides receding to reveal the track just in time for the event.
Laytown races is a one-day festival, normally a large crowd with a vibrant atmosphere. While it's a serious race meeting with professional jockeys and horses, it also has a fun and community-centred vibe. Many visitors come not only for the races but for the unique experience of horse racing on a beach.
Laytown Races is still on my bucket list, but for now, I’ll watch it on Racing TV. It may be the Monday highlight, but I don’t have any selections from that meeting.
Thirsk
4:50 – Lokana won a maiden here (7f) in May. She hasn’t fully built on that success, but her last two starts suggest she’s ready to win a Class 6 handicap like this. However, she faces Fibonacci Sequence, a twice raced filly from the George Scott yard. She won a novice at Chelmsford 25 days ago and could be well-handicapped off a mark of 68 if she handles the turf.
Windsor
3:12 – Mighty Bandit won a soft-ground maiden at Pontefract (1m 2f) in May. He bounced back from a poor run at Newmarket on handicap debut with a solid 3rd of 10 at Newbury last month. He might need more of a stamina test, but I think he can get close here.
Monday’s ‘Lay or play’
There are two ‘lay or play’ qualifiers on Monday.
I won't be putting up any ‘lay or play‘ qualifiers after Wednesday but i'll be letting readers know how they can access them going forward.
Good luck with your Monday bets.
John