Almaqam, Constitution River and Item

Irish Champion Stakes tips: Sporting Life podcast panel share their thoughts

Horse Racing

Wed September 09, 2026 · 5h ago

The Sporting Life Podcast team previewed the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes. Are they for or against Constitution River?

Billy Nash: I’m not sure it’s going to be a sensational weekend for Aidan O’Brien. Yes he’s had a pretty good season even by his own remarkable standards with 15 Group One winners but if you look since Benvenuto Cellini won the Irish Derby, he’s only had four Group One winners.

Scandinavia was one at Goodwood, Sun Goddess won the Phoenix, Diamond Neckless in France and Constitution River in what was probably an ordinary Coral-Eclipse. So his top horses seem to have fallen off a small bit in the second half of the season. Now that could all change this weekend but I’d be slightly concerned about just how good his very good horses are at this point of the campaign. We’re about to find out and that starts with Constitution River in the Irish Champion.

I’m not convinced he should be favourite, yes he had excuses at York, he was a bit too free and perhaps the pacemaker didn’t do what he should have, but at the same time he was still beaten fair and square by both Item and Almaqam and I for one think ITEM should probably be favourite for this race off the back of that performance. Leopardstown will suit him as will any ease in the ground, and it certainly should be on the soft side of good. He has the benefit of Colin Keane in the saddle, who rides Leopardstown as well as anyone.

I think the race will set up nicely for him and at the prices he’s the one I’d like to be on. I think it could be the start of a good weekend for Colin Keane.

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David Johnson: I think there might be a little bit of poker going on with the Balldoyle team here and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Constitution River get the kind of City Of Troy, Juddmonte International ride. That’s what I’d be doing if I was them, I think he’s a horse who just keeps on galloping. We know that given how he won the Eclipse where he ground the others into submission and I think that’s how they need to be thinking about winning this race.

You think of a typical Irish Champion Stakes and it’s won by the quickening types. Think of the turn of speed Delacroix showed last year, and the speed he showed in the Eclipse before that. Constitution River doesn’t have that kind of speed, he has different qualities and they need to engineer the race to play to those strengths.

I think the best way they can do that is Constitution River out in front going an even gallop and trying to wind it up from a long way out. If his stablemates are in there they’ll probably sit second and third and make the likes of Item and Almaqam come wide and late, having to make up ground on the leader who could get first run.

But he looks a short price on what he’s achieved and no more than second best, or possibly third best, in here. For him to be around 6/4 looks skinny. And what on earth does ALMAQAM have to do to get a little bit of credit? He’s 9/2 and there’s a fag paper between him and Item on the Juddmonte form and the way this race is going to pan out might suit him better than that rival.

The Irish Champion is likely to be run four or five seconds quicker than the Juddmonte International and Item wasn’t getting there four or five seconds before the line that day. Almaqam is a straightforward selection at the prices as far as I’m concerned.

Item edged out Almaqam in the Juddmonte International

Graham Cunningham: Like David I think ALMAQAM has a very solid chance. I’d be very surprised if he didn’t reverse the form with Item myself, I just think he’s a faster horse than him with give in the ground. He traded at 1.01 when he kicked clear of the runner-up and Constitution River at York.

The key question with the favourite, as has been touched on, is can Aidan get him back to racing efficiently again? He’s had an unusual season in that in the French Derby because of the draw he had to run really hard for a really long time to offset it. In the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown he had to run really hard because his pacemaker Flushing Meadow set severe fractions and last time out he jumped the path and got lit up and did quite well to last so long.

If he races efficiently I’ve no doubt he’s a Group One horse but he’s trading at a shorter price than a couple of horses who beat him last time and I thought Almaqam was an absolute treat at 8/1, 7/1, 6/1 and even at 5/1 and 9/2 he’s a really solid price for a horse who’s dead uncomplicated and has never been better than he is now.

Constitution River wins the Eclipse in style

Fran Berry: When it comes to the Irish Champion Stakes Aidan O’Brien he has some track record. Auguste Rodin won this race and was second in it off the back of two sub-standard efforts and given how he manages to peak his horses for this weekend, I’ll be very interested to see how Constitution River looks in the ring pre-race.

Aidan has some knack this weekend at having the big horses walk in there looking like heavyweight boxers ready to go and I must say I was a little disappointed when I saw Constitution River in the pre-parade ring ahead of York, he didn’t do a lot for me and was very edgy. That continued on the way to the start, Ryan Moore had his head turned over the railing on the inside rail going down and was to the pin of his collar to keep a handle on him.

To be like he was in the preliminaries and run as he did – yet hang in there for as long as he did too – showed the ability he has but I think they’ll be keen to get a lead on him here, for all I can see what David was saying earlier. He’ll need to be more relaxed, maybe he was fresh at York given the break he’d had since Sandown.

But for me Saturday is all about the parade ring and if Constitution River is in there looking stronger and better than he did at York and more relaxed then he’s at his peak and ready to go.

I agree with the lads about Almaqam. The more running he’s getting now, and he’s had a bit of minding through his career, the better he’s getting. He’s improving with racing and Item finds a way to win. I wouldn’t have much between them for all Almaqam might be better suited to Leopardstown.

The ground is good. It’s dry on Wednesday, turning unsettled Thursday through Saturday. They’re racing 24 yards from the innermost line which wouldn’t be as wide off memory as it can be on Irish Champions Day so maybe more of the inner track, or towards the inner track, will play to the horses who are ridden prominently.

Traffic problems can be a key factor at Leopardstown also but if he he looks as I hope he will in the ring then it’s CONSTITUTION RIVER for me. He’ll have to, I was disappointed with him at York in the preliminaries and in the race itself, mentally, but I’d hate to be laying him on Saturday if he’s looking well beforehand.