There will certainly be no shortage of opinions bandied about the grandstand at Leopardstown Racecourse Saturday as the 13-horse field gathers on the turf for the 41st renewal of the Irish Champion Stakes. Getting consideration will be the English Derby winner, the French Derby winner, the English Oaks winner, a Breeders Cup champion and a former Irish Champion Stakes winner. All told, nine individual Group 1 winners have been declared in for the race.
Topping the list will be the homegrown three-year old filly, Minding. The daughter of Galileo was turned over to trainer Aidan O’Brien and came away as the Cartier Champion Two-Year Old Filly in 2015. This year has seen important triumphs in the 1000 Guineas and the Epsom Oaks where she left the gate as an 11/10 favorite both times. O’Brien has won seven Irish Champion Stakes, including training Dylan Thomas who is the only horse to win twice. No trainer has won more than O’Brien in this race but he has not been to the winner’s circle since 2011. UK bookmaker Betfred has installed Minding – running against the boys for the first time – as the 5/2 favorite to end that drought.
Minding’s chief competition will come from Harzand who entered the season with decidedly fewer laurels. He went to the post only once in his two-year old season in 2015 and finished fifth. This spring Harzand broke his maiden with a 16-length romp but was still lightly regarded going into the Epsom Derby where he overcame a sixteen runner-field to win as third favorite. Three weeks later he was the 4/6 choice in the Irish Derby and fought off the challenge of a fast-moving Idaho to win by half-a-length. Harzand opens in the betting at 3/1.
Joining in the Leopardstown fun will be French Derby winner Almanzor who stepped up in class to surprise at 20-1 in June at the Prix du Jockey Club’s premier race for three-year olds. Almanzor was not considered the best horse in trainer Jean-Claude Rouget’s barn but since that victory he has been targeted for higher profile races such as the Irish Champion Stakes. Almanzor dusted the Irish and British-trained horses in France and now it his turn to take on the role of invader. His chances of doing so are rated at 6/1.
Also sailing across the English Channel will be the four-year old colt New Bay. New Bay won the French Derby in 2015 in a season that saw him dominate with four wins, two seconds and a third place finish in the Prix De l’Arc de Triomphe. His four-year old campaign did not launch until May and after a disappointing return in the Prix d’Ispahan he overwhelmed a short field in the Grade 3 Prix Gontaut-Biron. New Bay is offered at 10/1 in the Irish Champions Stakes.
O’Brien has two more entries in the race in Found and Highland Reel at 8/1 and 9/1 respectively. Found captured the Breeders Cup Turf last year at 8/1 but otherwise the consistent contender has had problems getting to the finish line first. In seventeen career races, Found has only been out of the money once while cashing five first place checks. There have been nine second-place runs including four in a row coming into this race and in the Irish Champion Stakes last year. Highland Reel, another offspring of Galileo, has been a top performer in both his three- and four-year old seasons. He has notched three Grade 1 victories including the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in July.
With a field this deep, 2014 Irish Champion Stakes winner, The Grey Gatsby, trains under Kevin Ryan in near anonymity with odds of 25/1. There have been no wins for Gatsby since that breakthrough at Leopardstown but a couple of runner-up finishes in Grade 1 races and a second to Big Orange in July in the Princess of Wales Stakes hold out hope to backers.
The eyes of the racing world will quickly pivot from Ireland on Saturday to Paris on Sunday for the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. The race is named for a windmill on the grounds that dates to the 13th century. The history of the horse racing event is not quite that old, dating back only to the 1950s. This year’s field is only six horses deep but promises to be every bit as competitive as the Irish Champion Stakes.
Zelzal, enjoying a strong three-year old season, is attracting the most support. Another Rouget-trained competitor, Zelzal has won four of five races stumbling only in his first attempt at Grade 1 racing in May. He has since returned to seize the Grade 1 Prix Jean Prat in his last outing and is primed to continue his winning ways. Irish sportsbook Paddy Power considers Zelzal the odds-on favorite at 7/4.
Second favorite Vadamos, 11/4, is now five years old and has been a reliable winner in the lower divisions each year of his career but has yet to win a Grade 1 race. He just swept to victory in the Grade 3 Prix Messidor at this distance (about 1 mile) in July and was a stubborn runner-up in the Grade 1 Prix Jacques le Marois in August so all signs point up for the Prix du Moulin. Every question dogging Vadamos can be applied to Dutch Connection, 4/1. The four-year old son of Dutch Art has found success in Grade 2 and Grade 3 races but has not been able to nudge all the way into the winner’s circle at the Grade 1 level.
Zarak goes to post as the 4/1 fourth choice. The promising three-year old won at this distance in his maiden attempts but has shown his best races to be at longer distances as he notched second-place runs against Almanzor in both the French Derby and the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano. With Almanzor’s connections opting for the free-for-all in the Irish Champion Stakes, the path may be clear for Zarak to break through in French racing’s upper echelon.
