Irish Champion Stakes: Aidan O'Brien v Rest Of The World

The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday can be summed up as Aidan O’Brien versus The Rest Of The World. 

O’Brien has five of the 12 possible runners in the Group One showpiece, while the other seven challengers will represent England, France and Japan. 

The bare statistics suggest the dice is loaded in O’Brien’s favour. After all, he’s landed 12 previous editions of the race (including the past five) and his last two winners - and – are set to return. They could be joined by two Classic victors in and Continuous, with Hans Andersen at their services as a pacemaker. 

Between them, O’Brien’s quintet have plundered 13 races at the highest level, while the Rest Of The World squad have cobbled together only two. 

And we've been here before, too, as recently as 2022, when O'Brien fended off the raiding party.

Yet the hot favourite is the William Haggas-trained Economics, the most lightly raced runner in the field who has looked such an exciting talent in winning each of his three races this season. 

Here’s a guide to all the possible contenders. Watch what happens live on Racing TV at 3.25pm. 

Group One wins: 6. Official Rating: 123. Timeform Rating: 131. Odds: 3/1. 

Took the spoils last year after getting a perfect stalking ride before winning the Breeders’ Cup Turf, having previously won the Derby and Irish Derby. And this year he’s added a Prince Of Wales’s Stakes to his CV, not forgetting he was also a Group One winner as a two-year-old. Six of the best for a son of Deep Impact who has made a deep impact. But along the way there have been three inexplicable blowouts, plus a second tame surrender in the King George last time when trailing home a well-beaten fifth. Heads you get dashing display, tails a dismal one. Which way is the penny going to drop this time? He’s chasing a third successive win at this meeting (2/2 at Leopardstown) but White Birch had no trouble turning him away in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh in May and that Royal Ascot form looks shaky, with the second, fourth and fifth all subsequently hammered in the Juddmonte International. He’s not for me. 

Group One wins: 1. Official Rating: 119. Timeform: 130. Odds: 20/1. 

The Irish St Leger at The Curragh on Sunday would look his logical route given the smooth way this colt landed the Great Voltigeur/St Leger double last year before finishing an honourable fifth in the Arc. But his connections have the mighty Kyprios in that race and might not feel they need any cover. A clue that this race is a definite maybe (I’ve not heard anyone plugging the Oasis concerts for five minutes, so the Gallagher brothers can have that one on me) was his victory in the 1m 2f Royal Whip at The Curragh last time, after a lacklustre return in the Hardwicke. O’Brien seems to quite like that race for some of his Irish Champion contenders. Luxembourg won it en route to taking this prize two years ago, while Found took it before finishing runner-up in 2015. Continuous had to roll up his sleeves to beat inferior rivals at The Curragh and is going to have to raise his game, but he’s a smart cookie and will have freshness on his side after a light campaign. 

Group One wins: 1. Official Rating: 120. Timeform: 126. Odds: 33/1. 

This reliable French performer was placed in his first four Group One assignments before having his day in the sun at the Dubai World Cup meeting in March, when springing a surprise in the Dubai Turf. You can easily put a line through his below-par run in the Queen Anne (the two Gallic raiders took an unwise scenic route) and he was swiftly back to form when third in the Sussex Stakes last time. However, that Goodwood form is working out rather miserably and, more significant, Facteur Cheval can race keenly and usually races over a mile. He did go close over 9f on one occasion, but that was in a false-run contest favouring speed over stamina. I can’t see this being run at a sedate pace with all the Ballydoyle runners wanting a proper test at the trip, so his reserves of stamina are going to be fully explored. 

Group One wins: 0. Official Rating: 102. Timeform: 112. Odds: 200/1. 

Frankel became the fastest sire to 100 Group winners this year, with Hans Andersen chipping in with his Group Three victory at Leopardstown in the spring of last year. These days, though, he is employed as a pacemaker for stablemates held in much higher esteem. I think it’s a safe bet that will again be Plan A for him but don’t bank on him being at the front of the peleton. He wasn’t quick enough to lead City Of Troy at York last time, despite being equipped with first-time blinkers, and it was a similar story when Auguste Rodin won at Royal Ascot. 

Group One wins: 4. Official Rating: 120. Timeform: 129. Odds: 14/1. 

There are not too many horses who, like him, have won Group One races at two, three, four and five, but I sense his best days are behind him. He dug deep when winning this race two years ago and went down on his sword when beaten half a length by Auguste Rodin 12 months ago. He now seeks to make history by becoming the first horse to reclaim his crown. The problem is that he seems to have hit a plateau. There was an odds-on defeat in Saudi Arabia, a laboured effort in Dubai and a heavy defeat in the King George last time, albeit he seemed to be used in something of a pacemaker relay for Auguste Rodin that didn’t work out. There was a Coronation Cup win at Epsom to savour before that, but Ryan Moore thieved that prize on him. It wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if, like at Ascot last time, Luxembourg is again asked to press on a little way out, perhaps at his own expense. 

Group One wins: 0. Official Rating: 113. Timeform: 122. Odds: 66/1. 

All five of his career wins have been achieved on ground that has been good to soft, or softer, and on four occasions he’s been a non-runner on account of good ground or quicker being deemed unsuitable. However, connections have rethought their policy this year and his past three runs have all come on fast terrain. He probably ran up to form when fifth to Auguste Rodin in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (beaten about four lengths) but there is an old saying that “they will always go on it once”. He finished last of four in the Sky Bet Stakes next time before failing to make an impact when sixth in the Juddmonte International. He will be be making up the numbers unless the heavens open. 

Group One wins: 0. Official Rating: 116. Timeform: 127. Odds: 50/1. 

Zarakem operated under the radar in France last year despite winning five races, none of them above Listed level. He changed hands for €500,000 at the end of the year and he’s paid a good chunk of that back, scooping a Group two prize in the mud at Longchamp on his return before beating all bar Auguste Rodin in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. That was his first outing on fast ground and his poor run at York last time, when eased off, suggests it may have left a mark. Looks best watched here. 

Group One wins: 0. Official Rating: 121. Timeform: 129p. Odds: 11/10 fav. 

This hulk of a horse has had only four races but has been swift to develop into a high-class performer. That’s reflected by him officially being the second highest-rated runner in the line-up despite having never run at the highest level. He’s just 2lb lower than multiple Group One winner Auguste Rodin. Having dispatched a big field of maidens on his return at Newbury, he then routed the Dante field by six lengths and upwards in a slick time. Excited chatter about the Derby was resisted by William Haggas, who instead gave his burgeoning starlet a three-month break before bringing him back for a Group Two assignment at Deauville last month. Economics picked up from where he left off, brushing aisde Jayarebe by two lengths in convincing style with Almaqam another six lengths back in third. The Dante form, overall, is nothing special but that French form has substance. The runner-up had previously won the Hampton Court Stakes at the expense of King’s Gambit (admittedly unlucky on the day) and Bellum Justum, while Almaqam had previously been beaten an aggregate of five lengths in the St James’s Palace Stakes won by Rosallion. Economics is clearly well served by a mile and a quarter and, unlike several of these, arrives here on the up with form that already puts him bang in the picture. His owner's family have a sponsorship interest in this race, so it’s not difficult to imagine it has been the main objective since he dazzled at York. My one small niggle would be if the ground got quick because this powerful individual is unraced on anything quicker than good. 

Group One wins: 0. Official Rating: 118. Timeform: 125. Odds: 12/1. 

He was unbeaten in three starts as a two-year-old but has come up short in his four Group One assignments this term. However, he has been anything but disgraced and I’ve a hunch ten furlongs around Leopardstown may be ideal for him, making him an interesting each-way proposition at double-figure digits. Fourth in the 2000 Guineas and the French Derby, he upped his game to be finish a close third behind City Of Troy and Al Riffa in the Coral-Eclipse before filling the same position in the Juddmonte International. The Eclipse form has worked out a treat, while he bumped into two monsters (City Of Troy and Calandagan) at York, when he pulled almost four lengths clear of the classy Bluestocking. He’s not got City Of Troy or Calandagan to worry about this time – you would imagine either of those would be favourite for this had they been in the field - and he can make his presence felt. 

Group One wins: 2. Official Rating: 118. Timeform: 126p. Odds: 7/1. 

Does Los Angeles have a stronger chance of winning the St Leger or the Irish Champion Stakes? He’s still entered in both races I’d imagine an online poll would point strongly to the former. However, Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore clearly believe they can win the final Classic of the season without him (and they are probably right) and so, instead, the Irish Derby and Great Voltigeur winner is dropping down in distance. O’Brien rarely gets these things wrong, but all the evidence points to stamina being the main weapon of Los Angeles, rather than speed. Perhaps his connections remain puzzled: his autumn entries are over races ranging from 10 to 16 furlongs. You would have to think this is going to have to be an attritional edition for him to prevail. It’s not difficult to imagine an end-to-end gallop, which would help his cause, but a dryish surface seems on the cards. Los Angeles did win a muddling race over course and distance at the start of the campaign, lending encouragement that he may have the gears to cope, but he was taking on inferior rivals that day. He’s only been beaten once (third in the Derby) I can see him giving it a good go but being vulnerable to quicker rivals where it matters most. 

Group One wins: 1. Official Rating: 114. Timeform: 122. Odds: 33/1. 

He was a surprise winner of a messy French 2000 Guineas in the first half of the season (it was an average renewal and they ended up in a heap) but you cannot quibble with his subsequent placed efforts in the St James’s Palace Stakes (third to Rosallion) or Jacques le Marois (split Charyn and Inspiral). This extra quarter of a mile could well help him a progress a bit further, but he probably needs to find between 7lb and 10lb of improvement to be hitting the jackpot. The last of four French-trained winners of this was the brilliant Almanzor in 2016. 

Group One wins: 0. Official Rating: --. Timeform: 119. Odds: 14/1. 

Japan’s champion trainer, Yoshito Yahagi, has scooped big races all over the globe and is eyeing an audacious Irish Champion Stakes/Arc double with Shin Emperor. This colt’s brother, Sottsass, contested both races in 2020, finishing fourth at Leopardstown before going on to glory in Paris. Sottsass was trained in France and we had a fair idea of what he was about, but Shin Emperor is harder for us to get a handle on because this will be his first run in Europe. He was fifth in the Japanese 2000 Guineas (run over ten furlongs) before finishing third in the Japanese Derby, having won a Group Three prize at the end of last year (when he had the Japanese Derby winner behind). He’s had the best part of four months off, booking his place in this line-up with a workout that pleased connections at Longchamp last weekend. You underestimate Japan’s middle-distance horses at your peril and he undoubtedly adds a layer of intrigue. But does 12 furlongs suit him best and, with the Arc in mind,  will he be completely revved up here, or is he using it as a trusted stepping stone? It’s the Arc that remains the Holy Grail for Japan. 

Aidan O’Brien usually finds a way to win this race but all his candidates seem to have his chinks and, in Economics, they face a colt of huge potential. The score between Ireland and challengers from elsewhere in the world is 24/24, and he can tip the scales back in favour of the raiders. Ghostwriter looks a big price to make the frame.