A great weekend of racing lies ahead for the purists with the running of the final Classic of the season, the St Leger at Doncaster and plenty of Group 1 action at Leopardstown, including the Irish Champion Stakes.
Ireland’s Aidan O’Brien is short-priced to secure the British trainers title this season and his three runners in Saturday’s Betfred St Leger (16h40) at Doncaster could add to his tally.
The Ballydoyle entries head the market – Illinois, Jan Brueghel, and Grosvenor Square – in a field of seven.
Illinois the favourite, will be partnered by Wayne Lordan as Ryan Moore is in action in Ireland. The Galileo colt has already proven himself over the trip after taking the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot in June. He has subsequently placed in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris and Great Voltigeur.
He is joined in the line-up by Jan Brueghel, who took his unbeaten record to three when landing the Gordon Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, and the 20-length St Leger Trial winner Grosvenor Square.
Sean Levey rides Jan Brueghel while Gavin Ryan has been booked for Grosvenor Square.
Among their opposition is the Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me. The Ralph Beckett trained filly was supplemented at a cost of £50,000 during the week. She was last seen finishing second in the Yorkshire Oaks and will be tackling the trip for the first time. Simple Verse was the last filly to win this back in 2016, and ironically, Ralph Beckett also trained her.
However, O’Brien looks too strong here with a pace angle in Grosvenor Square and two top-class staying sorts sure to be close to the pace. There is not much between Illinois and Jan Brueghel on the ratings and at 7/2, the narrow selection is the second favourite.
15 minutes earlier, eight colts will jump away from the ten-furlong start for the biggest prize in Irish racing – the Gr1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (16h25). Worth €712,500 to the winning connections, this field is packed with class and includes a raider from Japan, Shin Emperor. He was last seen finishing third in the Japanese Derby in May.
Aidan O’Brien saddles half the field including Luxembourg (winner in 2022) and defending champ Auguste Rodin, the mount of Ryan Moore. Another Ballydoyle colt to consider is Los Angeles, a winner of five of six starts, only beaten at Epsom when third to City Of Troy in the Derby.
He gets the 6lbs age allowance which makes him a big runner, but Moore stays loyal to Auguste Rodin which says a lot about the six-time Group 1 winner.
A bigger danger to Moore could come from the English raider Economics, trained by Willaim Haggas. The Night Of Thunder colt bolted up by six lengths in the Dante in May, before returning to the track in the Group 2 Guillaume d’Ornano Stakes at Deauville last month, when beating Jayarebe by two.
Economics is widely regarded as one of the most exciting horses in training and gets his favoured trip, but O’Brien, with four runners will have tactics on his side and Auguste Rodin is fancied to follow up.
