Constitution River could have double-Derby hero Lambourn to help with pace setting duties in what’s shaping into a season-defining clash in Saturday’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes.
The mouth-watering prospect of Round Two between the elite trio of Constitution River, Item and Almaqam is on after they featured among a select entry of nine horses for Leopardstown’s €1.25 million feature on the opening leg of this weekend’s Irish Champions Festival.
They memorably clashed in last month’s Juddmonte International where Andrew Balding’s Item edged Almaqam with Constitution River in third.
Aidan O’Brien blamed himself for Constitution River’s eclipse, pointing to his decision to run a pacemaker (Action) that wasn’t good enough and which meant the French Derby and Eclipse winner raced too freely.
The champion trainer described it as a “complete mess” and pledged not to make the same mistake as he chases a record-extending 14th Champion Stakes victory.
Constitution River’s stable companion, French Derby runner up Hawk Mountain, wound up making the running in the Juddmonte before fading to sixth. That colt is in the Champion Stakes too as is another elite performer in Lambourn.
Winner of last year’s Epsom and Curragh derbies, Lambourn has led or raced prominently in all five of his starts this year, including when bouncing back to something like his best form when fourth to Kalpana in the King George at Ascot in July.
Being able to call on such high-class talent for a potential pace scenario underlines the depth of resources available to O’Brien, who has consistently defended his use of pacemakers in top races.
Ground conditions at Leopardstown were officially “good to yielding” on Tuesday and have encouraged Ed Walker to target Leopardstown with Almaqam, winner in May of the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.
“I was probably more likely to not take in the Irish Champion than to run in it straight after York, but he’s come out of that race very well and is in great form,” he reported.
Leopardstown boss hopeful of good ground and a big crowd at Champions Festival
“He’s realistically got two more targets now this year; the Irish and the English Champion so I think we’ll be having a shot. He definitely is really well suited with a little bit of ease in the ground.
“He’s just had two very frustrating, dry summers which have made life very difficult for us. When he’s got his conditions, he’s very, very good, and in the Prince of Wales’, he ran well below either the Curragh or York form, and on that quick ground he just struggles,” the English trainer added.
In contrast, the Item team wouldn’t like ground conditions to ease too much, and the Juddmonte ownership has also left Dermot Weld’s hugely progressive Purview in the big race. Purview has an alternative Saturday option in the Group Three Kilternan Stakes.
Saturday’s main Group One support, the Coolmore Matron Stakes, may also turn into a Balding-O’Brien clash with the top English filly Blue Bolt on course to take on Ballydoyle’s pair of Guineas winners, Precise and True Love. There’s also a potential French starter in Godspeed.
Last year’s Matron winner Fallen Angel is in the mix too and her trainer Karl Burke said: “Fallen Angel is a superstar filly. She likes a bit of cut in the ground so any rain that comes now, after such a dry summer, will be welcome.”
Bumper Group One weekend could see Aidan O’Brien regain top-flight momentum
A total of 15 entries are left in the newly promoted HKJC Golden Fleece Stakes which takes to seven the total number of Group One contests between Leopardstown and the Curragh this weekend.
The entry is dominated by Aidan and Joseph O’Brien who have 11 of the possibles between them. Charlie Appleby has the option of running Godolphin’s Quest For Stars, unbeaten in three starts including a Listed contest in Salisbury last time.
The growing influence of Joseph O’Brien on the top prizes is stamped all over some of the Curragh’s Group One highlights on Sunday.
He has five of the 11 hopefuls left in the Comer Group Irish St Leger although they face a task against a trio of Ballydoyle opponents topped by the season’s top stayer Scandinavia. He could be joined in the €500,000 feature by top-class stable mate Jan Brueghel.
That influence is also clear in the first of Sunday’s four Group One contests, the Moyglare Stud Stakes. Ten fillies remain in it with half of them from Ballydoyle and a trio from O’Brien jnr Robson De Aguiar has the remaining pair of entries.
Johnny Murtagh has 10 entries across the weekend and goes into ICF on the back of a hugely lucrative first winner in the US. Take Charge Star landed a Grade Two at Kentucky Downs on Monday night with a first prize of $450,000 (almost €390,000).