ALL SYSTEMS GO AT LEOPARDSTOWN: The big three-year-old head to head challenge is still on (* at the time of writing) with Golden Horn set to take on Gleneagles in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Apologies for the later update than normal. Like everyone else, I have just been awaiting news from Leopardstown.
There has been 27mm of rain at the course where the going was changed on Saturday morning to yielding, good in places on the outside track (on which the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes is run) and yielding, soft in places on the inside track.
Rain has cleared out during the morning and the rest of the day is forecast to be dry, bright with sunny spells.
There are four non-runners on the card at the time of writing:
16:05 2 Blue De Vega 8 Restive
17:15 6 Morning Mix
18:20 5 Iveagh Gardens
But the good news is that in the big race at 5.45pm all of the principals stand their ground – despite the pre-race concerns.
It promises to be an absolute belter – aside from the three-year-olds there is the hardly insignificant challenge from French superstar Cirrus Des Aigles and last year’s winner The Grey Gatsby is back for more – but in his case it looks a much tougher task than last year when the race revolved around the dual Derby winner Australia who was retired after being beaten at 1/3 in this race.
If Gleneagles does run it would be mildly surprising given the ground is more testing than it’s been in the two high profile races at York and Goodwood for which he was ruled out.
Of the others, Free Eagle comes here on the back of a narrow win over The Grey Gatsby in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and could easily confirm that form given he is lightly raced and capable of further improvement.
Given the ground though, the percentage call has to be Golden Horn. He suffered a shock defeat at York in the Juddmonte Stakes (good to soft) but has previously handled softer ground well and the York run may simply have been nothing more than a bad day at the office.
SHAMROCK’S BETS:
NAP: Golden Horn (5.45 Leopardstown)
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