Irish Champion Stakes shaping up to be Europe’s race of the year

Providing perfect ground conditions for all concerned will be a major challenge for Leopardstown's authorities, but Free Eagle's trainer Dermot Weld reckons if every major contender does turn up for the €1.1 million Qipco Irish Champion Stakes, it will be Europe's race of the year.

Plenty of fingers are being crossed for a mouth-watering Champions weekend clash between the classic superstars Golden Horn and Gleneagles, both of whom need quick going to run, while the veteran French superstar Cirrus Des Aigles likes an easy surface.

Jim Bolger has added a further twist to the mix by indicating his classic heroine, Pleascach, may line up at Leopardstown. But despite the various big race permutations, Free Eagle remains on course for just his sixth career start in the mile and a quarter highlight.

Successful in last year's Champion Stakes undercard – after which champion jockey Pat Smullen labelled him the best he's ridden – Free Eagle's sole start of 2015 yielded a first Group 1 success in Royal Ascot's Prince of Wales's Stakes.

Injury-interrupted

After Free Eagle’s brilliant but injury-interrupted career to date, Weld appears keen to make up for lost time with an end-of-season campaign potentially also taking in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe before a trip to Keeneland for the Breeders’ Cup Turf in late-October.

“It has been the plan since Ascot to take a summer break and come back for the Irish Champion Stakes, then look at the Arc, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf is definitely at the back of my mind for him too,” said the Curragh trainer.

Even the prospect of a star-studded field for the race, a rare Group 1 blank on the trainer’s CV in Ireland, isn’t diverting Weld from that plan, especially since Free Eagle has proven himself on a variety of surfaces in his handful of starts.

“He’s a good ground horse, but it was pretty firm when he won at Ascot,” he said. “He’s got a very good action with lots of pace and he’s effective on a quick surface too. We will have to see what happens, but it looks like it is becoming the race of the year – in Europe at least – and it’s great it’s at Leopardstown, and in Ireland.”

Pleascach became another intriguing ingredient to the possible Champion Stakes mix after Bolger said he is considering dropping last week’s Yorkshire Oaks winner back to a mile and a quarter.

“Kevin [Manning] is very keen to go to the Champion Stakes. I was thinking of the Prix de l’Opera, but I wouldn’t rule out the Champion Stakes. I will have to speak to Sheikh Mohammed’s people, but Kevin is pushing for it and that’s a good sign,” said Bolger.

Record

Aidan O’Brien holds a record seven Champion Stakes victories and has confirmed his intention to run the dual-Guineas winner Gleneagles if ground conditions are suitable. However the filly, Found, or the Secretariat Stakes winner Highland Reel may substitute if the going turns too slow.

Earlier this month, French trainer Corine Barande-Barbe confirmed Cirrus Des Aigles on course for Leopardstown.

Before Free Eagle’s return to action, the Weld team will target Group 1 glory in Saturday week’s Betfred Haydock Sprint Cup with Mustajeeb.

One horse likely to be off for the rest of this season is the St Leger entry Radanpour.“He was sore after the Irish Derby and is still a big immature horse so it’s likely he will be let off until next year,” reported Weld.