The Irish Champions Festival returns this weekend, backed by some of the sport’s most significant sponsors and showcasing the very best of international competition.

The sector in Ireland is estimated by Deloitte to contribute a total of €2.46 billion in direct and stimulated expenditure, and this is the weekend when it shines brightest on the world stage.

Across two days at Leopardstown and the Curragh, the Festival offers six Group 1 races. It carries the added prestige of being a World Pool event, with every race on both cards available to global betting markets.

Leopardstown – Saturday Spotlight

Day one at Leopardstown is headlined by the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes, one of the jewels of world racing. It brings with it the glamour of Japanese participation, as Ryusei Sakai seeks redemption with Shin Emperor, trained by Yoshito Yahagi. The pair ran with promise in last year’s renewal and Sakai is relishing a second crack:

“He is more mature and stronger now than last year, more experienced too. He looks great, very healthy and seems to have settled well into his new environment on the Curragh… I learned a lot from the race at Leopardstown last year and I hope that experience can help us.”

Standing in their way is a powerful Aidan O’Brien battalion led by early favourite Delacroix, alongside Expanded, Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, and the filly Whirl. Johnny Murtagh’s improver Zahrann, Owen Burrows’ Group 1 ace Anmaat, and John Murphy’s ever-popular White Birch add further intrigue to a contest that rarely disappoints.

The supporting cast at Leopardstown is equally glittering. The Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes provides another clash of star fillies and mares. Fallen Angel, runner-up to Porta Fortuna in this race 12 months ago and a Group 1 winner in France last month, is back to avenge that defeat. She could again face January from the O’Brien team, as well as Royal Ascot heroine Cercene, course star Vera’s Secret, and the supplemented Cathedral, now trained by Kevin Philippart De Foy.

Curragh – Sunday Classics

If Saturday belongs to the middle-distance stars, then Sunday at the Curragh is all about stamina, speed, and the rising generation. The Comer Group International Irish St Leger, the final Classic of the season, will pit Aidan O’Brien’s Illinois against Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa, so impressive in the Curragh Cup. Royal Ascot winners Amiloc and Carmers could also feature, while local favourite Crystal Black bids for a fifth Curragh triumph under the banner of the Wear A Pink Ribbon Syndicate.

Sprinters take centre stage in the Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes, which welcomes a history-making challenger. Asfoora, winner of last month’s Nunthorpe Stakes at York, will become the first Australian Flat runner in Ireland, with Oisin Murphy again in the saddle. Trainer Henry Dwyer believes she is peaking at just the right time:

“She is at or very near her best now… This will be her fourth run in Europe this year and we have to be hopeful of another big run.”

Standing between her and glory will be a typically deep field including Aidan O’Brien’s Whistlejacket, Adrian Murray’s exciting pair Bucanero Fuerte and Arizona Blaze, and Yorkshire stalwart Art Power.

The Moyglare Stud Stakes and the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes will decide the season’s leading juveniles. Karl Burke’s unbeaten Venetian Sun heads the fillies’ contest after her victory in France, while Charlie Appleby’s Saba Desert bids to extend his perfect record in the National Stakes against Ballydoyle’s Italy, Gstaad, and a host of rising stars.

A Festival of Champions

With the Royal Bahrain, Coolmore America ‘Justify’, Comer Group International, Bar One Racing, Moyglare Stud, and Goffs names attached to the headline contests, the sponsorship portfolio underlines the global significance of the weekend. Between them, the two racecourses will once again deliver a festival that combines world-class racing with international storylines, from Japanese raiders to Australian sprinters and Europe’s finest juveniles.

Image Credit Leopardstown

 

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