It’s a great weekend of Group 1 racing with Leopardstown hosting the Irish Champions Festival over the weekend and a big day for the sprinters with the running of the Gr1 Betfair Sprint Cup (16h35) at Haydock Park on Saturday.
Shaquille will be all the rage in a field of 17 who go to the six-furlong post for the Sprint Cup.
The connections celebrate winning the Pertemps Network July Cup Stakes with Shaquille during July Cup Day of The Boodles July Festival 2023 at Newmarket Racecourse- James Doyle takes over from Rossa Ryan (Pic – Racing TV)
Julie Camacho’s three-year-old has made rapid progress through the ranks this season and victory this weekend would leave little doubt about his champion sprinter status.
The son of Charm Spirit produced a remarkable performance to win the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot after completely missing the start and repeated the trick in the July Cup at Newmarket.
This weekend Shaquille will be reunited with James Doyle, who steered him to his first two victories of the season.
Officially rated 120, Shaquille is very well in at the weights and if he jumps on terms, should provide a third Group 1 success of the season to the small yard of Julie Camacho and her owners.
There is a terrific field for Ireland’s top race – the Gr1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (16h20), run over ten furlongs. Nine go to post for the €712,500 first prize, including three from Ballydoyle.
Ryan Moore teams up with Auguste Rodin who looks to be the ace of Aidan O’Brien’s trio. O’Brien performed a wondrous feat of training in preparing Auguste Rodin for the Derby after his 2,000 Guineas failure. He could repeat that on Saturday after the nightmare at Ascot in the King George.
Derby runner-up King Of Steel finished third at Ascot and this big son of Wootton Bassett has a fair chance here, but I’m selecting Alflaila to provide some redemption for jockey Jim Crowley and secure another Group 1 victory for the Shadwell operation this summer.
Crowley, who won the King George on Hukum, missed out on further Group 1 success in the Juddmonte International with Mostahdaf, but could come good here on the Dark Angel four-year-old colt.
Earlier on the card, Moore and O’Brien team up with the exciting Diego Velazquez in the Gr2 KPMG Champion Juvenile Stakes (15h15), run over a mile. This €2.4 million buy won his sole start at the Curragh by nearly five earlier this month and is well regarded by his trainer.
