Tony McFadden highlights five horses who increased their Timeform ratings at the Irish Champions Festival.
Diamond Necklace (100P from 92P)
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Curragh maiden winner Diamond Necklace was very strong in the betting for the listed Ingabelle Stakes, the opening contest at the Irish Champions Festival, and she rewarded that support with an emphatic two-and-a-quarter-length success while leaving the impression there's plenty still to come.
Indeed, Diamond Necklace still has the Timeform 'Large P' symbol to denote she's capable of much better form after impressing with how strongly she finished having probably started her challenge from further back than ideal.
Her strength in the finish and her middle-distance pedigree - by St Mark's Basilica and a half-sister to Group 1 winners Magic Wand and Chicquita - suggest a step up in trip will help bring about that anticipated improvement.
Benvenuto Cellini (109p from 95p)
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsBenvenuto Cellini faced only three rivals in the Champions Juvenile Stakes and was sent off the 1/2 favourite, but, despite that lack of competition, he was still able to enhance his reputation with a much-improved display.
They went a steady gallop but Benvenuto Cellini was still able to put plenty of distance between himself and his rivals inside the final furlong, forging five lengths clear in the style of an exciting prospect.
His new rating of 109p puts him on the coat-tails of the leaders in the division - who currently sit on 115p - and it's little surprise that he's been propelled to the head of the Derby betting.
Precise (111p from 98p)
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsPrecise attracted some support in the Moyglare Stud Stakes but was only the 11/2 third choice in a market dominated by stablemate Composing, the evens favourite, and Karl Burke's Prix Morny winner Venetian Sun, who was sent off at 5/2.
However, it was Precise who came out on top, finishing off strongly to beat another stablemate Beautify by three-quarters of a length with Venetian Sun in third and Composing only fourth.
Precise possibly benefited from obtaining more cover than her stablemates in a race run into a headwind so it would be hard to be dogmatic about her ending the season as the highest-rated filly, but she enjoys that status at least for now. She's also clearly progressive and ran to a smart level in the Moyglare; indeed, the only fillies who put up better winning performances in the race since Minding scored in 2015 were Happily in 2017 and Tahiyra in 2022.
Zavateri (115p from 106p)
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsIt was a very good weekend for Aidan O'Brien who, along with winning the two most important races, the Irish Champion Stakes and St Leger, fared especially well in the two-year-old division and won the Champagne, Champions Juvenile and Moyglare Stud Stakes. However, he came up just short in the National Stakes as Gstaad, the odds-on favourite, was denied on the nod by Zavateri who extended his unbeaten record to four.
Zavateri, winner of the July and Vintage Stakes on his two most recent outings, progressed again in the National Stakes to shade the verdict at the end of a protracted tussle with one who went into the race as Timeform's highest-rated juvenile. Gstaad has now been joined at the head of the pecking order by the likeable Zavateri who is bred to stay a mile so could still have a bit more to offer.
Al Riffa (125 from 120)
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Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsAl Riffa did win a Group 1 at a mile and a half, though that was achieved in the Grosser Preis Von Berlin and he was essentially a shade below the best of those in the middle-distance division.
He's quickly shown even better form as a stayer, however, as his four-length success in the Irish St Leger represented his best effort yet on Timeform's ratings and places him only 2 lb behind impressive Gold Cup winner Trawlerman.
Sunday's emphatic defeat of the previously unbeaten Amiloc was only Al Riffa's second start at a mile and three-quarters. He had won the Curragh Cup by five lengths over course and distance in July.
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