Irish Champion Stakes set for export once again The feature race on day one of Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown this Saturday is the Group 1 QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes over 1m 2f, but the home team once again look to have a difficult task on their hands to keep the prize on Irish soil. Among the 10 entries for this middle-distance championship contest with €1,250,000 in prize money on offer and more than €700,000 going to the winner are several strong foreign trained contenders including hot-favourite the British trained Roaring Lion. British trained horses have won five of the last six runnings of this premier event - Decorated Knight (2017), Golden Horn (2015), The Grey Gatsby (2014), The Fugue (2013) and Snow Fairy (2012). The other winner in the last six runnings was the French trained Almanzor (2016). This year’s main contenders are: Roaring Lion Newmarket handler John Gosden has won two of the last five runnings of the Irish Champion Stakes and his Roaring Lion sets the standard with an unbeaten three victories at the trip. This is the Qatar Racing owned three-year-old’s ideal distance after landing the Dante Stakes, then the Coral-Eclipse and Juddmonte International — all top-class events. Roaring Lion came to prominence with his two-length third to Masar in the Epsom Derby over 1m 4f. His subsequent Group 1 wins taking on his elders at Sandown and York (the latter victory by 3 1/4 lengths) make him a worthy favourite with 888 horse racing odds on offer at 5/4. Saxon Warrior The leading home contender to be the first domestically trained winner of the Irish Champion in seven years is Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore Stud’s 2000 Guineas hero Saxon Warrior, who admittedly hasn’t gone set the world alight since. This three-year-old son of top Japanese thoroughbred Deep Impact was beaten favourite in both the Epsom and Irish Derbys when fourth and third respectively, then went down by just a neck to Roaring Lion in the Eclipse despite a stewards’ inquiry. Saxon Warrior has finished behind Roaring Lion on the last three occasions that they have met including when five lengths behind that rival when fourth in the Juddmonte International last time out, but it’s to be hoped he can give a better account of himself on home turf and is 4/1 to land the spoils. Study Of Man Study Of Man, like Saxon Warrior, is by sensational Japanese sire Deep Impact. He is trained in France by Pascal Bary for the Niarchos family and brings more top level form to the race. He won the Prix Du Jockey Club (French Derby) on only his fourth racecourse start in June and despite a below par effort when returning to action at Deauville last month he has been pleasing connections in his recent work and would look a solid each-way play if eight or more line up for Saturday’s race.
