John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Saturday.
Three points of interest
Little between Deauville one-two in the Matron Stakes
Leopardstown stages the first day of the weekend’s Irish Champions Festival with the Matron Stakes (16:25) being the first of two Group 1 contests on a bumper nine-race card. This sees a rematch between four-year-old Fallen Angel and younger rival January from last month’s Prix Rothschild at Deauville when Karl Burke’s filly came out on top by a head.
After two runs on very firm ground earlier this year, Fallen Angel seemed to appreciate an easier surface at Deauville where she ran out a game winner. Leading the far-side group, Fallen Angel was headed narrowly in the final furlong by January, who had raced on the stand side, but rallied to get her head back in front. Fallen Angel has a good record in Ireland, and while she found Porta Fortuna too good in last year’s Matron Stakes, she’s a former winner of the Moyglare Stud Stakes and Irish 1000 Guineas and can come out on top again.
January is yet to win this season but has also been placed in the Coronation Stakes and Falmouth Stakes prior to Deauville and has been edging closer to Group 1 success with each of those runs. She’s now fitted with cheekpieces for the first time – Fallen Angel has worn the same headgear for her last two starts – in the hope that will help her make the breakthrough. Cercene, who had January behind her in the Coronation Stakes, is in the mix too, though both her wins have come on firmer ground.
Delacroix can make it 13 for O’Brien in Irish Champion Stakes
The highlight at Leopardstown is the Irish Champion Stakes (17:30) which Aidan O’Brien won for the first time in 2000 with Giant’s Causeway. He can now boast a dozen victories, including five consecutive wins between 2019 and 2023. That winning streak was broken last year when Economics denied Auguste Rodin a second successive victory by a neck.
O’Brien’s main hope this year is Delacroix who had a race to forget when favourite for the Derby but bounced back quickly in the Eclipse when showing a telling turn of foot to defeat older rival Ombudsman by a neck. Delacroix was then no match for Ombudsman when they clashed again in the Juddmonte International at York but with the latter opting out of a potential ‘decider’ here, that leaves Delacroix 3 lb clear in the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings. However, he still faces a stern test from other older horses, with last season’s Tattersalls Gold Cup winner White Birch having a fine record fresh and Anmaat having plenty of high-class form to his name.
Delacroix also has the ‘Horses For Courses’ flag, having won both his starts over course and distance in the spring, and while he’s without the assistance of the injured Ryan Moore, stand-in Christophe Soumillon has won the Irish Champion Stakes before on Almanzor who beat the Ballydoyle fillies Found and Minding in 2016.
Lambourn can be first this century to complete Derby-St Leger double
It’s rare enough these days for the Derby winner to contest the St Leger (15:40), let alone win it, but Lambourn gets the chance to become the first colt to win both classics since Reference Point achieved that feat for Sir Henry Cecil in 1987. There was even more at stake for the last Derby winner to run in the St Leger as Camelot was bidding to complete the Triple Crown in 2012, but he failed to emulate Nijinsky who had been the last colt to complete the classic treble at Doncaster in 1970.
Lambourn followed up his Epsom win in the Irish Derby where he was made to pull out all the stops to hold off stablemate Serious Contender, but he then suffered an odds-on defeat in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York, the same race which Reference Point had won on the way to the St Leger. While only fifth of seven to Pride of Arras who had been well behind him at Epsom and the Curragh, Lambourn looked and shaped as though he’d be better for the run. Lambourn needs to turn that form around with Carmers and stablemate Stay True who were second and fourth respectively at York, but he’s a strong-galloping type who promises to stay the longer trip and is expected to bounce back to his best.
Camelot might have been the one that got away, but ‘Hot Trainer’ Aidan O’Brien has won eight St Legers, including last year with Jan Brueghel under Sean Levey who rides Lambourn this time, and has another strong contender in proven stayer Scandinavia. He was a wide-margin winner of the Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket before beating older stablemate and last year’s St Leger runner-up Illinois in the Goodwood Cup. Carmers was staying on well in the Great Voltigeur and shouldn’t be underestimated stepping back up in trip after winning the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot when he had Scandinavia behind him.
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