One of the biggest celebrations of Irish racing, the Champions Festival, will once again draw racegoers from around the country to the Curragh and Leopardstown. It’s two days, two premier racing venues and two of the biggest races: the Irish Champion Stakes and the Irish St Leger. It’s going to be a fantastic craic at both racecourses so follow along with Tonybet so you don’t miss any action!
Start your weekend at Leopardstown – the Irish Champion Stakes
Saturday 14th September is the first day of the Irish Champions Festival, one of 23 meetings held at the premier course. Leopardstown is located just six miles from the centre of Dublin, which will be buzzing on such a big day as racegoers make their way to the course.
Line up for the craic
The atmosphere at Leopardstown is always fantastic, and for the Irish Champion Stakes Day, there will also be some unique opportunities to indulge in, such as grabbing a photo with the Irish Champion Stakes Trophy and taking a trip down to the starting line.
For racegoers who may have their eye on the latest League of Ireland action and other sports, there will also be big screens at the venue.
There are nine cards lined up at Leopardstown, and five of those are Group races, with the headline feature being the Irish Champion Stakes. Here’s a closer look at some of the top features of Irish Champions Weekend Day 1.
Golden Fleece Stakes (Group 2)
The day kicks off with the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes, which is a one-mile test for the top two-year-olds. This is a race in which trainer Aidan O’Brien has enjoyed plenty of recent success, as the Irish trainer has scored eight of the last 12 renewals.
Seven of the previous dozen winners were all favourites on the day, and O’Brien will likely be heavy-handed for the opener again, with early entries for the unbeaten Henri Matisse, The Lion In Winter and Scandinavia.
Solonaway Stakes (Group 2)
The Solonaway Stakes is another one-mile test, this time for three-year-olds and above. Last year’s winner was Karl Burke’s Flight Plan. David O’Meara is the only trainer to score more than one win in the race in the previous decade, but he hasn’t been on the board since 2017.
Half of the last six Solonaway winners were three-year-olds. Aidan O’Brien’s Henry Longfellow is one of the key contenders in this year’s fixture, but could face some pressure from Ralph Beckett’s King’s Gamble.
Coolmore America “Justify” Matron Stakes (Group 1)
The Matron Stakes has been the world’s best fillies and mares race for years, and last year it was trainer Dermot Weld who was celebrating after jockey Chris Hayes got Tahira home first as the 5/6 favourite.
Eight of the last nine winners of the Matron Stakes have been three-year-olds, with trainers Aidan O’Brien, Karl Burke and Johnny Murtagh all having successes in that span. Only two of the last 12 Matron Stakes winners were favourites, which highlights wonderfully the competitiveness of this race.
For this year’s renewal, trainer Donnacha O’Brien has a big shot with the ante-post favourite Porta Fortuna, who has scored the Coronation Stakes and the Falmouth Stakes this season. Karl Burke has Fallen Angel in the mix, while Aidan O’Brien’s duo of Opera Singer and Ylang Ylang can’t be counted out.
Irish Champion Stakes (Group 1)
The Irish Champion Stakes isn’t just one of the biggest and best races in Ireland – last year, it was ranked the sixth best in the IFHA world rankings. The race caps a stunning day of action at Leopardstown and it will be a superb line-up heading to the start line.
Last year, it was Auguste Rodin who scored for trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore. O’Brien and Moore have teamed up for the last three winners of the race and have taken four of the last five renewals, a run only interrupted by one of O’Brien’s closest allies, Seamie Heffernan, in 2020.
Auguste Rodin is expected to battle for a title defence, with Ballydoyle stablemates Los Angeles and Opera Singer also in the frame. Los Angeles also holds an entry for the St Leger at Doncaster the same day, and if he skips that for a tilt at the Irish Champion Stakes, that’s a power trio for County Wexford’s O’Brien.
Between them, Auguste Rodin, Los Angeles and Opera Singer have won the Irish Derby, the Princess of Wales’s Stakes and the Coronation Stakes, among other successes this term.
However, it’s William Haggas who has the ante-post favourite for this year’s Irish Champion Stakes in the form of Economics. The three-year-old has won all outings this season and is a very promising prospect. None of his wins were at the top level though, which could leave him exposed against the top Irish challengers.
Five of the last 12 winners of the Irish Champion Stakes were race favourites, and all but one of the last 12 came from the top three of the betting. Three-year-olds have produced the highest success rate in the last dozen renewals, scoring seven times.
Then off to the Curragh for the Irish St Leger
After all the breathtaking thrills of Leopardstown, there’s little time to rest before the focus switches over to the Curragh for Irish St Leger Day. Once again, it’s another brilliant day of action with eight cards to look forward to and another five Group fixtures. The Curragh, located in County Kildare, is the home to Ireland’s five racing Classics and it’s a day not to be missed.
The weekend craic rolls on
More of the top Irish horses, trainers and jockeys will descend on the premier course, which is easily accessible from Dublin by car and from Kildare Town and Newbridge train stations. The Irish Champions Day is the richest race day in Ireland with more than €2.5m in prize money up for grabs.
Holding such a special place in the local community, the iconic Curragh knows how to celebrate in style. Besides the brilliant day of racing, there will be plenty of family fun, such as fairground rides, a treasure hunt and a Formula One simulator. Also, kids under 18 go free at the Curragh!
Enjoy fantastic hospitality at the venue and a party atmosphere that starts when the gates open at 11:30, well ahead of the day’s first race at 13:50.
Moyglare “Jewels” Blandford Stakes (Group 2)
The race for fillies and mares is the first Group action of the day at the Curragh for which top Irish trainers Aidan O’Brien, Joseph O’Brien and County Tipperary’s Paddy Twomey will have contenders lined up.
Joseph O’Brien has had the upper hand in this contest in the last two years, scoring back-to-back wins with Above The Curve and Lumiere Rock, the latter an impressive 6/1 winner last year. Each of the last five winners was a three-year-old, and only three of the last dozen winners were favourites.
Flying Five Stakes (Group 1)
This 5f sprint is open to three-year-olds and above and is always an exciting race. Archie Watson’s Bradsell is one of the leading contenders this year, as he goes in search of a hat-trick in current form. George Boughey’s Believing and Henry Dwyer’s Asfoora could both be in the mix, along with Bucanero Fuerte for Irish trainer Adrian Murray.
Each of the last three winners of the Flying Five were five-year-olds, and eight of the last dozen winners were aged four or older. Seven of the last 12 winners were from the top three in the betting, with only five favourites delivering the odds.
Moyglare Stud Stakes (Group 1)
The 7f Moyglare Stud Stakes for two-year-olds keeps the Group 1 action rolling along and it could be one of the most hotly contested races of the day. Ger Lyons has the in-form Babouche entered, but Aidan O’Brien will be hot on his heels with the likes of Bedtime Story and Fairy Godmother, both of whom are highly talented youngsters in good hands.
This should be a cracker of a race, and wide open, as only two of the last 12 winners have been favourites. O’Brien is the only trainer in the last 12 renewals to win on more than one occasion, scoring three times, but not since 2019.
National Stakes (Group 1)
The race before the Irish St Leger is the National Stakes, another contest just for two-year-olds. Eight of the last 12 winners were favourites, including last year’s winner, Henry Longfellow, for that successful trainer/jockey partnership of Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore.
O’Brien has Henri Matisse entered for the National Stakes as well as the Golden Fleece at Leopardstown on Day 1 of the Irish Festival, so it will be interesting to see where he goes. O’Brien has plenty of other options, including Ides of March and Scandinavia, the latter being in the same boat as Henri Matisse in terms of entries this weekend.
Irish St Leger
This is the one that everyone has turned up to see, and fans will be hoping for a home Irish success to put a shine on the weekend’s celebrations. Established in 1915, the Irish St Leger is one of the jewels of Irish racing.
The Irish St Leger differs from the English version at Doncaster because the 1m 6f contest at the Curragh is open to three-year-olds and above. There is no Irish Triple Crown bid this year, with Rapscallion having taken the Irish 2,000 Guineas, and Los Angeles winning the Irish Derby.
Nine of the last 12 winners of the race were aged four or older, and each of the last four were four-year-olds, with the last three scoring from a 9-11 weight. Only one-third of the last 12 renewals have been won by the race day favourite.
Aidan O’Brien, who has won four of the last 12 Irish St Leger contents, has the brilliant Kyprios as the 2024 ante-post favourite. The six-year-old has returned with a bang this season and is currently seeking his fifth win on the spin, after success in the Ascot Gold Cup and the Goodwood Cup in his last two outings.
Kyprios was topped by Roger Varian’s Eldar Eldarov in last year’s St Leger title defence bid by less than a length in a great contest, but he looks primed to make amends this year. O’Brien also has Continuous and Grosvenor Square lined up for a strong bid. Marco Botti’s Giavellotto has run himself into some good recent form, putting him in the frame as a St Leger contender.
This is one of the biggest races on the Irish calendar, and home successes have been common. There had been six Irish winners in a row until last year’s winner Eldar Eldarov raided the Curragh. Will 2024 see an Irish runner back in the winner’s circle?
There’s nothing quite like the trackside atmosphere at Leopardstown and the Curragh for the Irish Champions Festival, which itself is a massive celebration of Irishness and the high standard of racing that the Emerald Isle produces. However, if you can’t get there, don’t worry, as Tonybet has full coverage of all the cards from the two-day event, complete with racecard insights and competitive odds.
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