International stars set for Irish Champions Festival Group 1 races at Leopardstown and the Curragh this weekend
Tuesday, September 09, 2025
Photo credit: Caroline Norris
Ryusei Sakai is savouring a second crack at the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes on the opening day of Irish Champions Festival at Leopardstown on Saturday, a World Pool event for all nine races on the card.
The 28-year-old jockey will again partner Japanese raider Shin Emperor which features among the 12 horses standing their ground after this afternoon’s final entry stage.
Shin Emperor, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, delighted connections in an early workout with Sakai saying afterwards, “He worked this morning (Tuesday) on the Curragh racecourse with his partner horse and he felt very well, very comfortable. I was very happy with the gallop.
“He is a more mature and stronger horse now than last year, more experienced too. He looks great, very healthy and seems to have settled well into his new environment on the Curragh.
“I also learned a lot from the race at Leopardstown last year and I hope that experience can help us in the big race. He’s a straightforward horse. He led and won in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, or you can wait with him like we did here a year ago so I think we will have options.”
Set to line out against Shin Emperor in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is Aidan O'Brien’s early favourite Delacroix. O’Brien has also left Expanded, Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and the filly Whirl in the 10-furlong event with Johnny Murtagh’s improver Zahrann, the Owen Burrows’ two-time Group 1 winner Anmaat and John Murphy’s White Birch among the other leading contenders.
The Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron Stakes is the first of six Group 1s at Irish Champions Festival and the Karl Burke-trained Fallen Angel, runner-up to Porta Fortuna in the race last year, tops the remaining 13 entries.
Winner of the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh at Irish Champions Festival in 2023, she had a head to spare over Aidan O'Brien’s January when landing the Group 1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville a month ago and the pair are set to clash again. The race also features the Joe Murphy-trained Royal Ascot Group 1 scorer Cercene, Johnny Feane’s course specialist Vera’s Secret, the Paddy Twomey-trained One Look and the Amo Racing-owned Cathedral which was supplemented this morning by her new trainer Kevin Philippart De Foy.
Day two of Irish Champions Festival at the Curragh revolves around the season’s final Classic, the Comer Group International Irish St Leger. Of the 16 horses still involved, Aidan O'Brien might well have the early favourite in the shape of Illinois with Joseph O'Brien’s Al Riffa, the clearcut winner of the Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup on his first start over the Irish St Leger’s 14-furlong distance, an intriguing contender.
Two of this year’s Royal Ascot winners, Amiloc and Carmers could yet represent trainers Ralph Beckett and Paddy Twomey respectively while Crystal Black, a Royal Ascot hero for the Wear A Pink Ribbon Syndicate and trainer Gerry Keane in 2024, will get an opportunity to record a fifth Curragh success as he too lines out. All four Group 1 races at the Curragh on Sunday are World Pool events.
Asfoora will become the first Australian runner on the Flat in Ireland when taking her chance in the Group 1 Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes. Successful in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York last month, she arrives into Ireland on Friday ahead of Sunday’s sprint in which she will again be ridden by Oisin Murphy.
Speaking yesterday evening from his home in Ballarat, trainer Henry Dwyer said, “Asfoora came out of winning the Nunthorpe at York very well. I would say she is at or very near her peak now. I can’t be there with her at present, I am back in Australia, but my team have been with her all the way and they feel she has improved since York. This will be her fourth run in Europe this year and we have to be hopeful of another big run.
“Travel arrangements meant she wasn’t quite ready for Royal Ascot and the ground turned on her last minute at Goodwood, which did not help. We felt she was primed just right for York and she was very good there.
“We just hope the ground can remain on the good side. She will be okay on good to soft, but we can’t do much about the surface. She is in top shape and will travel over on Friday, we are really looking forward to racing her in Ireland.”
A total of 20 horses remain in the Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes with Aidan O'Brien’s Whistlejacket, Adrian Murray’s pair Bucanero Fuerte and Arizona Blaze, She’s Quality, trained by Jack Davison, Fozzy Stack’s Two Stars and the Tim Easterby-trained Art Power all going forward.
Having seen off five colts to win the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville, Venetian Sun will now have to cope with a maximum of 11 fillies if she is to extend her unbeaten run in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes. Karl Burke’s charge narrowly got the better of Aidan O'Brien’s Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes hope Gstaad as she won in France, her fourth straight win. Stepping up to seven furlongs for the first time, Venetian Sun could now take on the O’Brien-trained Composing, a two-time course and distance winner and unbeaten in her last three starts. The Ballydoyle trainer has also left in Beautify, Diamond Necklace, Precise and the maiden Venosa, while Ger Lyons’ Suzie Songs, runner-up to Composing in the Group 2 Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes at the Curragh last month and the Hugo Palmer-trained Fitzella would both be hoping to add to two previous wins.
Charlie Appleby’s Saba Desert will look to extend his unbeaten run to three in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes. He got the better of the Aidan O'Brien-trained Italy to win the Group 2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket in July and as he returns to action, he could face off against Italy again and O’Brien’s Gstaad whose own hat-trick bid came up short against Venetian Sun in France a little over two weeks ago. O’Brien has also left in Brussels, Dorset, and Puerto Rico, while another raider from across the Irish Sea could be the Eve Johnson Houghton-trained Zavateri, which boasts two Group 2 wins in an unbeaten three-start career.
Click here for Saturday’s entries at Leopardstown
Click here for Sunday’s entries at the Curragh
The 28-year-old jockey will again partner Japanese raider Shin Emperor which features among the 12 horses standing their ground after this afternoon’s final entry stage.
Shin Emperor, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, delighted connections in an early workout with Sakai saying afterwards, “He worked this morning (Tuesday) on the Curragh racecourse with his partner horse and he felt very well, very comfortable. I was very happy with the gallop.
“He is a more mature and stronger horse now than last year, more experienced too. He looks great, very healthy and seems to have settled well into his new environment on the Curragh.
“I also learned a lot from the race at Leopardstown last year and I hope that experience can help us in the big race. He’s a straightforward horse. He led and won in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, or you can wait with him like we did here a year ago so I think we will have options.”
Set to line out against Shin Emperor in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is Aidan O'Brien’s early favourite Delacroix. O’Brien has also left Expanded, Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti and the filly Whirl in the 10-furlong event with Johnny Murtagh’s improver Zahrann, the Owen Burrows’ two-time Group 1 winner Anmaat and John Murphy’s White Birch among the other leading contenders.
The Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron Stakes is the first of six Group 1s at Irish Champions Festival and the Karl Burke-trained Fallen Angel, runner-up to Porta Fortuna in the race last year, tops the remaining 13 entries.
Winner of the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh at Irish Champions Festival in 2023, she had a head to spare over Aidan O'Brien’s January when landing the Group 1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville a month ago and the pair are set to clash again. The race also features the Joe Murphy-trained Royal Ascot Group 1 scorer Cercene, Johnny Feane’s course specialist Vera’s Secret, the Paddy Twomey-trained One Look and the Amo Racing-owned Cathedral which was supplemented this morning by her new trainer Kevin Philippart De Foy.
Day two of Irish Champions Festival at the Curragh revolves around the season’s final Classic, the Comer Group International Irish St Leger. Of the 16 horses still involved, Aidan O'Brien might well have the early favourite in the shape of Illinois with Joseph O'Brien’s Al Riffa, the clearcut winner of the Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup on his first start over the Irish St Leger’s 14-furlong distance, an intriguing contender.
Two of this year’s Royal Ascot winners, Amiloc and Carmers could yet represent trainers Ralph Beckett and Paddy Twomey respectively while Crystal Black, a Royal Ascot hero for the Wear A Pink Ribbon Syndicate and trainer Gerry Keane in 2024, will get an opportunity to record a fifth Curragh success as he too lines out. All four Group 1 races at the Curragh on Sunday are World Pool events.
Asfoora will become the first Australian runner on the Flat in Ireland when taking her chance in the Group 1 Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes. Successful in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York last month, she arrives into Ireland on Friday ahead of Sunday’s sprint in which she will again be ridden by Oisin Murphy.
Speaking yesterday evening from his home in Ballarat, trainer Henry Dwyer said, “Asfoora came out of winning the Nunthorpe at York very well. I would say she is at or very near her peak now. I can’t be there with her at present, I am back in Australia, but my team have been with her all the way and they feel she has improved since York. This will be her fourth run in Europe this year and we have to be hopeful of another big run.
“Travel arrangements meant she wasn’t quite ready for Royal Ascot and the ground turned on her last minute at Goodwood, which did not help. We felt she was primed just right for York and she was very good there.
“We just hope the ground can remain on the good side. She will be okay on good to soft, but we can’t do much about the surface. She is in top shape and will travel over on Friday, we are really looking forward to racing her in Ireland.”
A total of 20 horses remain in the Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes with Aidan O'Brien’s Whistlejacket, Adrian Murray’s pair Bucanero Fuerte and Arizona Blaze, She’s Quality, trained by Jack Davison, Fozzy Stack’s Two Stars and the Tim Easterby-trained Art Power all going forward.
Having seen off five colts to win the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville, Venetian Sun will now have to cope with a maximum of 11 fillies if she is to extend her unbeaten run in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes. Karl Burke’s charge narrowly got the better of Aidan O'Brien’s Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes hope Gstaad as she won in France, her fourth straight win. Stepping up to seven furlongs for the first time, Venetian Sun could now take on the O’Brien-trained Composing, a two-time course and distance winner and unbeaten in her last three starts. The Ballydoyle trainer has also left in Beautify, Diamond Necklace, Precise and the maiden Venosa, while Ger Lyons’ Suzie Songs, runner-up to Composing in the Group 2 Alpha Centauri Debutante Stakes at the Curragh last month and the Hugo Palmer-trained Fitzella would both be hoping to add to two previous wins.
Charlie Appleby’s Saba Desert will look to extend his unbeaten run to three in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes. He got the better of the Aidan O'Brien-trained Italy to win the Group 2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket in July and as he returns to action, he could face off against Italy again and O’Brien’s Gstaad whose own hat-trick bid came up short against Venetian Sun in France a little over two weeks ago. O’Brien has also left in Brussels, Dorset, and Puerto Rico, while another raider from across the Irish Sea could be the Eve Johnson Houghton-trained Zavateri, which boasts two Group 2 wins in an unbeaten three-start career.
Click here for Saturday’s entries at Leopardstown
Click here for Sunday’s entries at the Curragh
He worked this morning (Tuesday) on the Curragh racecourse with his partner horse and he felt very well, very comfortable. I was very happy with the gallop.
