Aidan O'Brien confident Auguste Rodin will bounce back in the Irish Champion Stakes

What’s in a name, one wonders? It is no longer Irish Champions Weekend, you know? It is the Irish Champions Festival. If, indeed, the original moniker was the inadvertent thumb in the dam which prevented the seemingly oblivious public from flooding the Leopardstown and Curragh venues with racegoers for the greatest weekend of Flat racing that this country can offer, then I doff my cap to the individual or committee with nuanced understanding of the public psyche to realise that was all that was required.

Of course, that’s not going to be the case, and if, in 2023, the seemingly oblivious public wakes up to what is a superb weekend of action, it will have been all the work being done behind the scenes. As one who has a slightly greater appreciation for Flat racing than jumps racing — though it can sway — it has long been a source of bemusement and frustration that the most mundane of National Hunt programmes will attract greater numbers than a considerably higher-class programme on the Flat.

Albeit that the Galway festival is one of the great, if not the greatest, traditions of Irish racing, it tells a story that the least-well-attended days of that seven-day meeting will all but equal the attendance figures for the entirety of the Irish Champions Festival. Were I in a position to corral people into Leopardstown and the Curragh, on September 9 and 10 respectively, I would do so, for, while all is not perfect with the festival, it serves top-class racing on both afternoons.

But who would be persuaded by a racing hack when one of the greatest trainers that has ever walked the planet — yes, that’s what Irish Flat racing offers on an almost daily basis — gives his seal of approval.

Monday morning offered one of those never-to-be-missed opportunities to see hundreds of millions of euro worth of racehorses going through their paces, and their ringmaster, Aidan O’Brien, was in fine form as he juggled press obligations with the more important pursuit of fine-tuning his athletes for the upcoming meeting.

“It’s the most unbelievable meeting — it has changed Irish racing completely,” said the Ballydoyle maestro. “We never had anything where you could gather a whole team of horses and get them ready for one weekend like this. The races will stand up to any other races at their respective distances around the world.

“We have great tracks, great facilities, and great supporters. Hopefully, we get some nice weather because if we’re lucky in that department, the timing of the Irish Champions Festival is probably the best slot in the whole calendar.

“All we want is for the best horses to come. The better quality of horse we can attract to the meeting, the better it is for everyone. I think the meeting is only going to get stronger and stronger too. The Irish Champion Stakes looks like it should be very strong again and hopefully John and Thady (Gosden) will bring Mostahdaf over.

“Hopefully they all come because — win, lose, or draw — it’s the most important thing for everyone that we have strong races. The reality is, prize money brings the best horses, and the best horses bring the people.” 

O’Brien will be responsible for many of those "best horses" the meeting must attract, and he retains all his faith in Auguste Rodin, a horse whose relationship with punters is not what it is with his trainer.

With a nod to flippancy, the dual Derby winner has something to prove ahead of the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes on the first day of the festival. In amongst those formlines which include his successes at Epsom and the Curragh, there are the disappointments of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the King George at Ascot.

The latter performance, in which he was all but pulled up, has O’Brien puzzled, but his faith in his charge is unwavering.

“It was a very tough race, it was soft ground, he got trapped very wide, and he came off the bridle a lot earlier than Ryan (Moore) would have thought,” he explained. “Obviously, his first impulse was to protect the horse, and he was very surprised what happened, and before he had to ask him too much, he pulled him up.

“That’s the reality of the situation, and it’s probably a blessing in disguise. If he came off the bridle at that stage, he was probably going to get a very tough race no matter what happened, and I’d say that was one of the toughest King Georges run in a very, very long time. For a baby three-year-old, he might be lucky that he didn’t get into the brawl.

“He came home very well, and his work is brilliant. We’re very happy with everything he’s done. It’s been sweet, and he’s doing everything really well. We couldn’t be happier. He’s fresh, and he’s back very well. We’re looking forward to him running.” 

One stable star who is on track but not likely to be on point for the Comer Group International Irish St Leger is last season’s standout stayer, Kyprios, whose recent progress on his return from injury has impressed his trainer.

“He is in good shape, and we’re very happy with him,” expressed O’Brien. “Four months ago, you would have said that he would never race again. He got an infection in his joint and it had to be washed out, and the ligament down the outside of his pastern shifted, which meant his pastern joint became unstable. But it all came back. Everyone did a wonderful job with him.

“I didn’t think we’d get him to where he is. He was at the Curragh a couple of weeks ago. The plan is that he could run in the Leger but if he runs it will be for a run — I couldn’t imagine him being forward enough to be that competitive in that race, but you would still say that he should run a very good race.

“If he ran in the Leger — and we wouldn’t run him in the Leger unless we were happy that he would run a good race, obviously — and if that was the case then we would get going, and then you would have a look at Arc weekend again. You would have the Arc or the (Prix du) Cadran but I would imagine the Arc would be too much too quick. We don’t want to turn the screw too much or too tight in case we set him back.

“He’s a very good horse, and probably more than a stayer. You saw what he did in the Cadran last year: When he turned in, he took off. He looked like he was a different class horse than a stayer. I remember when he worked at the start of last year, he worked one day at the Curragh and the lads said that lad would have no problem starting at a mile and a quarter. That’s the kind of class he has.” 

Paddington, who has won four Group 1s this season and whose winning run came to an end when third behind Mostahdaf in the Juddmonte International, is likely to skip the Champions Festival in favour of Ascot, but City Of Troy and Diego Velasquez, who have been two of the most impressive juveniles thus far this season, are on track for the Group 1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes and Group 2 Golden Fleece Stakes respectively.

With six Group 1s, three Group 2s, and one Group 3 spread across the two cards, there is plenty for O’Brien to ponder, and more for patrons to enjoy. All that’s left is for record crowds to flood through the turnstiles. September 9 in Leopardstown, September 10 in the Curragh. It's the Irish Champions Festival, you know! See you there.