Irish horse racing will be at the centre of the sport globally this weekend with the staging of the Longines Irish Champions Weekend and the running of the €1 million Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
Big guns St Mark’s Basilica, Tarnawa and Poetic Flare remain on target to clash in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday.
The trio head the remaining 13 entries for the €1 million event, rated the second-highest race in the world last year and the highlight at 2.45 pm on Saturday.
The weekend promises to set a wagering record as well with eight races forming part of a world pool betting collective allowing bettors from across the globe to bet into the same pool here for the first time.
Coolmore Stud is providing hot meals free of charge to all stable staff attending over the weekend and the All Ireland Final between Mayo and Tyrone will be shown on big screens after racing has concluded.
Crowds of 4,000 are permitted to attend on each of the days.
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The first of the weekend’s Group 1 races is the Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes.
Johnny Murtagh has left in both last year’s winner Champers Elysees and the ever-improving Create Belief, while Aidan O’Brien can choose from Mother Earth, Empress Josephine, Joan Of Arc and Friendly.
Joseph O’Brien is also strongly represented with Thundering Nights, Pretty Gorgeous and Lovely Esteem while the Willie McCreery-trained Epona Plays would not be without her chance.
The Pascal Bary-trained Thalie stays in as do the Ed Walker-trained Dreamloper and Richard Fahey’s Fev Rover.
There are four Group 1 races at the Curragh on Sunday and the second day of Longines Irish Champions Weekend is highlighted by the Comer Group International Irish St Leger for which there are 22 horses remaining.
Leading the way is Dermot Weld’s Search For A Song, bidding for her third successive win in the race with opposition set to include Johnny Murtagh’s Ebor winner Sonnyboyliston.
From France and Germany, Yann Barberot’s Brokeback Mountain and the Andreas Suborics-trained Rip Van Lips, winner of the Group 2 Comer Group International 50th Oleander-Rennen at Hoppegarten in May, could yet take their chance along with the remaining British challenger, David O’Meara’s Eagles By Day.
Tim Husbands, CEO of Leopardstown Racecourse, said: “We are delighted to see such a top-class field at this stage announced for the Irish Champion Stakes. It will be a highly competitive race, truly reflective of the depth of quality of Irish racing currently. We are looking forward to a great day’s racing and to have racegoers returning in greater numbers will make for an extra special occasion.”
Evan Arkwright, Interim Chief Executive of the Curragh Racecourse, added that “The entries on Sunday certainly confirms the champion status of the day with high-quality runners from start to finish on a superb programme which features four Group 1 races. I would like to acknowledge the fantastic support of owners, trainers and of course our very loyal sponsors. We are really looking forward to welcoming racegoers back to the Curragh for one of the major highlights in the international calendar.”
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