Stars of the Irish Champions Festival: Horses to follow at Longchamp, Ascot, Flemington and Del Mar

The one for the Arc

What a weekend at the Irish Champions Festival. It's hard to know where to kick off when looking back on so many nuanced individual events, but let's dive straight to the heart of the matter and suggest LOS ANGELES as the one we should all be backing for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Aidan O'Brien has never won the Arc with a three-year-old colt but, that negative anomaly aside, his Irish Derby-winning son of Camelot obviously has plenty going for him and I reckon he’s a bit underestimated at 8/1 (general) for the big one at Longchamp.

He’d have won the St Leger had connections wished, that’s pretty clear on a direct line through narrow Doncaster runner-up Illinois, to whom Los Angeles had given weight and a beating in the Great Voltigeur, but O’Brien opted for what looked a slightly maverick move to drop back to 10 furlongs in Saturday’s Irish Champion Stakes and, on reflection, he’s run a superb trial.

On ground deemed plenty fast enough, over a patently inadequate trip, Los Angeles was beaten just a length and a quarter by rising star Economics in what was arguably the second-best Flat race run in Europe all year.

With no Economics, Auguste Rodin or the Juddmonte International one-two - City Of Troy and Calandagan – set to be involved, this is looking like a bit of a ropey year for the Arc and what Los Angeles does have in hand over the Japanese horse Shin Emperor, who finished marginally in front of him at Leopardstown, is proven top-class form on soft ground in France from last autumn.

The Opera Singer dream may have gone up in smoke in Sunday’s Vermeille, but now looks a decent time to jump straight back on the horse as Los Angeles has seriously stepped into the void on the back of this performance. There’s nothing else I’d be backing at this stage.

The one for the Opera

Sticking with Longchamp and all the talk after the Matron Stakes was that Fallen Angel had run a superb comeback race with a view to stepping up in trip for the Prix de l’Opera.

That much may be true but she had an easy enough time of things out in front and will be priced accordingly come the day (no Opera odds available yet), and I wouldn’t rule out staying-on Matron fourth YLANG YLANG giving Karl Burke's filly a tough time of things early next month.

It has not gone to plan for Ylang Ylang this season, the 1.5m guineas daughter of Frankel ending last year on a Group 1 high in the Fillies’ Mile, but yet to add to her tally in four subsequent starts.

Her one-length fifth in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket looked a textbook seasonal reappearance, then something wasn’t right at Epsom (pulled muscles according to reports at the time) and it’s apparently been a tricky road to recovery.

However, Saturday’s effort was far more in keeping with what we’d been expecting earlier in the year and she’ll be even sharper again having had the midsummer layoff. On top of that, Ylang Ylang is yet to be tried over 10 furlongs and, on this evidence, it should be right in the sweet spot for her.

The one for Champions Day

It was truly energising to witness ECONOMICS see off Auguste Rodin in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes – it’s been a while since I’ve personally witnessed the sort of guttural roar that went up from the reasonably-packed stands as the favourite fought his way to the front.

It was also quite refreshing to see how the race panned out. Many of us predicted the inexperienced chestnut might be phased by a dodgem-style dust-up with the Ballydoyle trio, but it reality we simply ended up with a bloody good horse race and much credit has to go to not only winning jockey Tom Marquand but also Richard Kingscote, who gave Ghostwriter every chance with a forward ride on the shoulder of predictable front-runner Luxembourg.

Onto QIPCO British Champions Day now for the winner, where his meeting with Calandagan will be much-anticipated. They bet 7/4 and 3/1 that pair respectively and unless it’s a complete bog which would probably inconvenience the French horse a little less, I would be sitting quite uncomfortably laying Saturday’s hero at odds-against.

The one for the Breeders’ Cup

How many future BC winners ran at the ICF?

Your guess is as good as mine in all honesty, but Green Impact, Porta Fortuna and Economics all earned their tickets at Leopardstown on Saturday, while at the Curragh it was Lake Victoria and Bradsell who secured fully paid-up Del Mar berths with wins in their respective Challenge Series races.

You’d imagine Bradsell will positively love burning around the tight five furlongs of the SoCal course and, until hearing Archie Watson speak of it on Racing TV following Sunday’s Flying Five, it had half slipped my mind that this horse was a late scratch just prior to the 2023 BC Turf Sprint.

Perhaps something flew into Watson’s mouth at the precise moment he refers to that episode during the interview with Kevin O’Ryan, but I can assure you there weren’t many wasps about in Ireland over the weekend and one suspects the Lambourn trainer still feels they have a score to settle with their star sprinter out in the States.

The other one I think could be exciting over there is Joseph O’Brien’s juvenile SCORTHY CHAMP, victorious in Sunday’s Vincent O’Brien National Stakes.

Winner of a Leopardstown maiden first time out in May, he looked rusty when returning from a break with a two-length third in the Futurity but managed to turn the tables on Henri Matisse and did so with something to spare having dossed a little out in front.

His brother Knight didn’t really kick on after looking smart at two so O’Brien would be wise to make hay this autumn and – even more pertinently to the case for taking him Stateside - Scorthy Champ’s full-sister Malavath was a fine second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf when staged at Del Mar three years ago.

The one for Melbourne

No prizes for plucking this name from the hat as he's now 10/1 favourite (standout price with Sky Bet) for the Race That Stops A Nation, and while he couldn’t stop the sensational Kyprios recording his fifth straight success this season in the Irish St. Leger, there’s no question VAUBAN just looks far more on it than he did 12 months ago.

It’s taken a little while in fairness, having seemingly not had the greatest of experiences Down Under when disappointing as 9/2 favourite in last November’s Melbourne Cup, but Willie Mullins has reportedly trained him differently this time and the six-year-old has got better and better with a bit more Flat racing experience to call upon.

Backing up his narrow win in the Lonsdale Cup at York, Vauban came from last to split Kyprios and Giavellotto – despite not being given the hardest of times when it became clear he wasn’t getting to the winner.

This looked the perfect tee-up job and he goes back to Australia with outstanding claims despite having a big weight to match his undoubted class.

The one who others will overlook

Not a lot goes under the radar from a highly-scrutinised, two-day meeting like the ICF but I’m always interested to see how the juvenile fillies from Ballydoyle are supposedly stacking up going into the autumn and winter and Lake Victoria’s stocks clearly rose sharply after her Moyglare triumph.

The previously unbeaten Bedtime Story went quite badly the other way and was reported to be lame after finishing last of five in the same race, but what about the O’Brien third-string who was a close third at 20/1?

EXACTLY doesn’t have the same flashy profile as some but had beaten Saturday’s Leopardstown winner Chantez in a maiden in July, since when she’s been placed in races at Group 3, Group 2 and now Group 1 level.

Still a bit rough around the edges (Declan McDonogh stated she ran green under pressure), the daughter of Frankel looks to be begging for a mile already and – in my mind at least – could still be anything as a three-year-old despite suffering a few defeats this term.

Classic winners from this yard can emerge via all sorts of different avenues and it’s worth recalling O’Brien’s past two Oaks winners have been Tuesday, who didn’t win at two, and Snowfall, whose sole success from seven starts during her first campaign was a seven-furlong Curragh maiden. Exactly is 66/1 (bet365) for Epsom at the time of writing.

The one for My Stable

One imagines the full story of GLENEAGLE BAY is relatively complex, seeing as he changed hands a couple of times and was gelded before he even took to the track as a four-year-old earlier this year, but on racecourse evidence alone he looks quite promising and should win races for new connections.

Jack Davison and Shamrock Thoroughbreds shelled out 85,000 guineas for the son of Gleneagles at Tatts in July and they very nearly got paid out on stable debut at Leopardstown on Saturday, the horse skipping into the lead before being gunned down late by Dance Night Andday in the valuable seven-furlong handicap.

Gleneagle Bay has only ever raced at a mile and seven, but his half-brother Naharr won the 2020 Ayr Gold Cup for William Haggas and I’d suggest a first try at six furlong could be well worth chancing on his next start.

The one for next year

It may seem like I’m out to get the Moyglare winner Lake Victoria here, but that’s really not the case at all. She’s an unbeaten and progressive daughter of Frankel with a G1 win to her name, and her future looks extremely bright.

Being out of the top sprinter Quiet Reflection, it was her turn of foot which proved most decisive over seven furlongs on decent ground at the Curragh and she already looks a Guineas horse in the making.

Having said all that, you’d be hard pressed to say we saw the best of RED LETTER on the day and she’s surely worth another chance. Her trainer Ger Lyons was beating the drum for her being his most promising young filly 24 hours earlier and she didn’t do a whole heap wrong.

Harsher critics than this one might suggest Colin Keane made a mess of it, briefly stuck in a pocket in a five-runner race, but he had tracked the odds-on favourite in fairness to the multiple champion jockey – it just so happened that Bedtime Story checked out quite sharply.

Red Letter was tapped for toe after fractionally losing momentum but was definitely making ground late and hasn’t done her reputation any serious harm on the face of it.

I’ve no idea where she goes next but she almost beat Lake Victoria on debut back in June and I wouldn’t have much between them if meeting again over a mile, especially on a softer surface. She’s a big girl and should make up into a very smart three-year-old with another winter behind her.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.