Brought to you by the Horse Racing Ireland.
Here’s what you need to know.
Longines Irish Champions Weekend may only be in its fourth year but it’s already become the biggest event in Irish flat racing. The prestigious event takes place over two racecourses, Leopardstown and The Curragh, from 9-10 September.
We’ve come up with this handy preview to give you an insight into what’s going on and which horses everyone’s talking about.
This two-day event has fast become one of Ireland’s biggest sporting events and a key fixture in the European racing calendar. Why? Because it has so many Group races, which are elite races that attract the most talented thoroughbreds. The incredible prize-money (€4.6m this year) attracts the best overseas runners and ensures the standards remain consistently high.
The whole thing has an aura of prestige. It truly is the sport of kings and you’ll feel a little bit like royalty, especially with artisan food and craft beers on offer at these illustrious courses.
Saturday’s action takes place at Leopardstown and there’ll be plenty of quality racing on offer in Foxrock.
Churchill is the favourite in the Irish Champion Stakes, after winning the 2,000 Guineas in England and Ireland and finishing second in the Juddmonte International at York. Churchill is quite short in the betting for the feature on Saturday ahead of Winter, and Eminent rates a danger.
Eminent wasn’t too far off in the Epsom Derby and, while he has since ran too exuberantly behind Ulysses, he was more responsive to his jockey’s demands when scoring in France. Expect his odds to be around 7/1.
Also at Leopardstown, Winter, one of the best fillies of recent years, is a “banker” in the Matron Stakes. Just don’t expect to get rich backing Aidan O’Brien’s grey!
After the excitement of day one, the Curragh plains will welcome a crowd of approximately 7,000 on Sunday.
The ancient venue is being redeveloped but there’s no getting away from the high standard of its half of the Longines Irish Champions Weekend. The National Stakes, Moyglare Stakes and Irish St Leger are guaranteed to keep everyone captivated. Order Of St George was a shock second in the Leger last season but expect Ryan Moore to make no mistake on O’Brien’s runner this year.
In the Moyglare, Clemmie looks the likely winner, though her connections – like racegoers – will not want too much of that wet stuff.
Don’t let it put you off two days that do great things to advertise Ireland, racing and Irish racing.
Now in its fourth year, Longines Irish Champions Weekend has firmly established itself as one of the leading racing fixtures in the global racing calendar. For two days in September, the best in racing, style and entertainment can be found at two of the world’s leading race-courses, Leopardstown in County Dublin and The Curragh in County Kildare.
For more information, check out the website. You can order tickets here with weekend tickets priced at €50 and day tickets going for €30.
Brought to you by Horse Racing Ireland.
