Irish Champions Weekend: O’Brien’s power poised to overwhelm rivals

The overwhelming power of Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle stable will be the bulwark of the home defence in 'Longines Irish Champions Weekend' and the trainer is only 9/1 to complete a remarkable clean sweep of all five Group One races at Leopardstown and the Curragh.

O’Brien has made 71 entries over the two days of Irish racing’s €4.25 million international shop window with just one of the 16 races up for grabs – Sunday’s €300,000 Tattersalls Auction Stakes – not including an entry from the world’s most powerful stables.

The champion trainer has more than half the 42 Group One entries for the Curragh on Sunday, including nine of the 17 left in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes, seven of the 12 in an all-Irish Moyglare Stud Stakes, and six of the 13 in the Palmerstown House Irish St Leger.

Order Of St George is long odds-on to defend his Irish Leger title, while Churchill was immediately made a hot favourite for the National Stakes. Rhododendron is also odds-on in some lists for the Moyglare.

Favourite

Minding is a general 2/1 favourite for Saturday’s Qipco Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown for which 17 remain, including Minding’s supplemented stable companion, Sir Isaac Newtown, as well as the dual-Derby hero Harzand and the French pair, Almanzor and New Bay.

However, with Minding likely to go for the Champion, it is the French filly Qemah who tops betting lists for the Coolmore Matron Stakes, although here too O'Brien has a proven Group One card to play in Alice Springs.

A separate illustration of Ballydoyle’s strength in depth is that nine of the dozen contenders for the Group Three KPMG Enterprise Stakes come from that yard, and, despite international rivals, the Racebets firm make it only 9/1 about O’Brien enjoying the finest Group One weekend of his illustrious career on home turf.

"He has had 22 horses run 96 times in the UK this season already, earning over €6.8 million in prizemoney. The combined total of his two closest pursuers, Richard Hannon and John Gosden is over €1.4 million behind," said spokesman, Joseph Burke.

“I cannot think of another sport where you could combine the second and third in a table and their sum total would fail to exceed that of the leader, never mind come up 21 per cent short. That is just the latest testament to Aidan’s brilliance and dominance wherever he goes.

“In fact, we are going just 11/1 about him winning the Champions Weekend Group One’s – and the Doncaster St Leger too,” he added.

Ryan Moore will be on Doncaster duty for the Leger favourite Idaho before making the dash across the Irish Sea. But even the prospect of potentially missing out on the first half of Leopardstown’s Saturday card hasn’t prevented him being made a 1/10 favourite to be leading jockey over ‘Champions Weekend’.

Ground conditions

Once again the final composition of the Irish Champion Stakes field could be uncertain until close to the race as ground conditions at Leopardstown continue to dry out, although the forecast is wet for the second half of the week.

Pat Smullen has indicated he will favour Harzand over Fascinating Rock in the Champion. Frankie Dettori has come in for the ride on Dermot Weld’s other runner.

“The more rain that comes, the better. Leopardstown is a very good draining track so we need to keep getting those showers. If the rain keeps coming, it’s ideal for both horses,” Smullen reported.

The last two winners of the Prix du Jockey Club, Almanzor and New Bay, will line up in the Champion Stakes, 25 years after the last French-trained winner of the race, Suave Dancer.

Leopardstown’s hopes of attracting the 2015 French Derby winner were confirmed by New Bay’s trainer Andre Fabre yesterday.

“The distance should suit and we want to try and win another big race with him. He won a Group Three at Deauville in good style last time and since then he has done really well,” the legendary trainer said.