Ronan Groome

Six Group 1 races, over €4.5 million in prize money, two racecourses over two days; the Irish Champions Festival takes centre stage this weekend.

The crescendo event of the Irish flat racing calendar, better known as Irish Champions Weekend until this year, is now in its 10th year and should draw a strong crowd into Leopardstown on Saturday and the Curragh on Sunday.

The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is the jewel of the weekend and features a Derby rematch between Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, with the latter, trained in Britain by Roger Varian, favoured by bookmakers to get his revenge on the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt.

All eyes will be on Dermot Weld’s star three-year-old filly Tahiyra in the Coolmore-backed Matron Stakes as she bids to make it three Group 1 wins in a row. Connections are anticipating a big performance from the daughter of Siyouni, especially if she is granted a fast pace to run off, which she has been denied for her last two starts, but still won comfortably.

This could be Aidan O’Brien’s best ever team of two-year-olds, and Sunday will go some way to proving that summation correct as City Of Troy and Ylang Ylang top the respective markets for the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes and Moyglare Stud Stakes.

City Of Troy won his previous Group 2 contest by all of six lengths, and with the runner-up coming out and winning a Group 2 since, it looks really strong form. Ylang Ylang cost all of 1.5 million guineas and has looked imperious for both of her two starts, and similarly to her stablemate, the form of her previous win was boosted significantly by the runner-up Vespertilio, who will be there to take her on again.

The Al Basti Equiworld Flying Five Stakes will see Highfield Princess back to defend her title for the Tipperary native, but Yorkshire-based, trainer John Quinn. The six-year-old mare was sportingly brought back into training at the beginning of the season, and though she only has one win from four starts, she has once again performed admirably in the top British sprints.

The final Group 1 is the Comer Group Irish St Leger which, intriguingly, could see a rematch between last year’s one-two Kyprios and Hamish. The latter, trained in Britain by William Haggas is three from three this term, in direct contrast to Kyprios who we’ve yet to see this term. He has a little bit to prove on that front, but his trainer Aidan O’Brien could also rely on Emily Dickinson, who was so impressive last month in the Curragh Cup. CL