Irish Champion Stakes Tips 2023: Take on Auguste and King with value play at Leopardstown
A sensational renewal of the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes will take place at Leopardstown on Saturday afternoon as Derby hero Auguste Rodin and Royal Ascot winner King Of Steel take on the older horses in a mouth-watering renewal of the 1m 2f contest. Our man Steve Chambers previews the event and picks out his best bet for what should be a pulsating contest...
Aidan O'Brien has saddled a stunning 11 winners of the Irish Champion Stakes and the master of Ballydoyle will have a strong team heading to Leopardstown this weekend and the most talked about horse lining up will be Epsom Derby hero Auguste Rodin, who was last seen failing to land any sort of significant blow when well fancied for the King George at Ascot.
A magnificent winner of the Derby at Epsom, the son of Deep Impact got the better of King Of Steel in the Group 1 Classic earlier in the season, but the pair were both beaten by Hukum and Westover in the King George, but the manner in which Auguste Rodin was tailed off a long way from home is a huge worry and it's hard to back him, despite him being short in the betting. The drop back to 1m 2f for this event could hinder his chances, as he looks every bit a mile-and-a-half horse and he could well struggle to frank the Derby form with King Of Steel, who has been a revelation this season.
Sitting at the head of the betting, at the time of writing, King Of Steel built on that Derby second with a stunning, dominant victory in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot, but he was well beaten by over four lengths in the King George and he will need to improve on that effort. The three-year-olds will receive significant weight from their older rivals here, so have to be major players, but there could be another three-year-old that makes more punting appeal lower down the betting.
871356294Joseph O'Brien's AL RIFFA has only been seen on the track five times during his career, but he's bagged two wins and three second placed finishes in that time and he showed when winning the Group 1 National Stakes at the Curragh last season that he is a top notch performer. Runner-up when well fancied on his first start this season when upped top 1m 2f, he then filled the same position next time out when second to world superstar Ace Impact in a French Group 2.
Beaten three-quarters-of-a-length that day at Deauville, Al Riffa will now return to Irish shores and will be looking to build on that fine run and he looks the value play in the market, as he heads to Leopardstown in decent form and still being relatively inexperienced he can outpace his rivals at the crucial stage of the race and claim glory.
A fine winner of the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket over a mile, Nashwa was unable to retain her Nassau Stakes crown at Glorious Goodwood and then was no match for Mostahdaf in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York. A top class filly, John & Thady Gosden's charge adds significant depth to the contest here, but she is arguably better over shorter, so can be ignored.
Of the others, Alflaila was a fine winner of the Group 2 York Stakes last time out, but this requires another step up here and he may struggle for Owen Burrows, while French raider Onesto was beaten in the Prix Jacques Le Marois last time out and will need to improve on that here. Luxembourg and Point Lonsdale add more depth to the O'Brien charge, but Auguste Rodin looks the pick of the Ballydoyle trio, while Sprewell was sixth in the Irish Derby before Auguste Rodin and looks to face a tough ask.
