Ahead of Saturday's Irish Champion Stakes day at Leopardstown, Andrew Mount has previewed the World Pool card and shared some betting angles. Andrew will be playing in Saturday's Betting Tournament, which is the final chance to qualify for the £25,000 World Pool Series finale, and you can too. Click Here to Opt-in to the Irish Champion Stakes Tournament.
Saturday’s meeting at Leopardstown gets underway with a juvenile Listed contest over the extended 7f. The Aidan O’Brien-trained CONTENT bounced back from her Chesham Stakes flop to justify 6-4 favouritism in a 7f fillies’ maiden here last month, scoring with more in hand than the length-and-a-quarter margin suggests. She’s entered in the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket next month and looks set to close at least.
APRICOT ICE was backed from 7-1 into 4-1 when runner-up to Content on her debut last month and the ground at Leopardstown – described as good, good to firm in places at the time of writing – will be ideal for the daughter of Bated Breath.
Race Two – the Group 2 Champions Juvenile Stakes (2.15) – has been a good contest for Aidan O’Brien, with both Australia (2013) and Auguste Rodin (2022) going on to win the Derby at Epsom the following season. Backing all 20 of his runners in the past ten years would have found six winners and returned a small profit (+£1.17 to a £1 level stake at SP).
However, since the race was elevated to Group 2 status in 2018, O’Brien is just two from 11 for a loss of £7.40. He was responsible for four of the 14 entries at the six-day stage, with DIEGO VELAZQUEZ, who ran out a comfortable winner of a 7f Curragh maiden (2-5 favourite) on last month’s debut, the most intriguing.
The first Group 1 on Saturday’s excellent card is the 1m Coolmore America “Justify” Matron Stakes for fillies and mares (2.45).
TAHIYRA made it four wins from five starts when justifying odds-on favouritism in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot though the beaten horses have done very little for the form. Joseph O’Brien’s ABOVE THE CURVE has blanked in three starts this summer since her Saint Cloud win in the spring and will be a tough rival if lining up here instead of at the Curragh on Sunday. The four-year-old’s record in spring/autumn reads 31211371 (4-8), improving to 121171 (4-6) outside of her seasonal debuts.
JUST BEAUTIFUL was racing on her preferred fast going for the first time this season when making all in the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes at the Curragh in late May, taking her record on officially good/faster going or a synthetic surface to 1111611 (6-7). The sole defeat was a two-length 40-1 sixth of 13 in a very competitive renewal of the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes. She’s also entered in the Group 2 Dullingham Park Stakes later on this card.
KING OF STEEL heads the antepost betting for the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (3.20) and the form of his Royal Ascot win was boosted by runner-up Continuous who comfortably went one better in the Great Voltigeur at York. Roger Varian’s colt lost no caste in defeat when third to Hukum and Westover in the King George and the cut back in trip to 1m2f could suit.
NASHWA failed to settle when runner-up to Mostahdaf at York will hold each-way claims if making the trip from Newmarket, while ONESTO will appreciate the step back up in trip from 1m after last month’s fourth to Inspiral on his belated seasonal return. AUGUSTE RODIN might have been fortunate to land the Irish Derby from stablemate Adelaide River, though something was clearly amiss when he was beaten miles (9-4 favourite) in the King George. He bounced back from his two previous defeats to score at the next time of asking and has been strong in the betting this week.
British trainers have landed the Group 2 Dullingham Park Stakes (3.55) six times from the last eight years they were represented, and they had the runner-up in the two blank years. Karl Burke’s FLIGHT PLAN – the sole British entry - didn’t quite see out the 1m1f trip when an 18-1 third of six to Spirit Dancer in the Group 3 Strensall Stakes at York and finished a close-up second in a 1m Listed contest at Pontefract in his only other left-handed start.
JUST BEAUTIFUL will be of interest if lining up in this rather than take up a Group 1 option earlier on the card, while Jessica Harrington’s BOLD DISCOVERY will appreciate the return to fast underfoot conditions after her fifth to Epictetus at Goodwood.
Aidan O’Brien and Dermot Weld have landed nine of the past the renewals of the 1m4f Group 3 Paddy Power Stakes (4.30) and the former had no less than ten of the entries at the six-day stage, with Irish Derby runner-up ADELAIDE RIVER the pick of them. Weld weighs in with five entries, though stiffer opposition could come from Joseph O’Brien’s UP AND UNDER, whose sire, Lope De Vega, provided the winner of this race 12 months ago.
The card ends with two premier handicaps – the 1m5f Irish Stallion Farms EBF “Petingo” Handicap (5.05) and the Irish Stallion Farms EBF “Sovereign Path” Handicap over the extended 7f (5.40). CURRENT OPTION, who tends to come alive in the second half of the Flat turf season, won the “Sovereign Path” as a three-year-old back in 2019 and was a close-up third of 18 last year. He struggled to see out a stiff mile at the Curragh last time and could be the each-way play.
