The Irish Champions Festival returns for the 2024 renewal with the action beginning at Leopardstown on Saturday 14th September. The Irish St. Leger takes us home at the Curragh on Sunday, showcasing some of the best thoroughbred flat racers in the world.
Now in its ninth year, the Irish Champions Festival is one of the biggest events of the Irish flat racing season. It is one of the leading international flat racing festivals. A prize pot of €4.5 million is up for grabs and six Group 1 races across the weekend make for an extremely exciting weekend of racing.
There are several big races across the weekend with a handful of Group 1s and we have horse racing predictions for the most exciting trips:
Saturday, September 14, 2024 – Leopardstown
- Champions Juvenile Stakes – 1:40 pm
- Matron Stakes – 2:50 pm
- Irish Champion Stakes – 3:25 pm
Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Curragh
- Flying Five Stakes – 3:35 pm
- Irish St. Leger – 4:45 pm
Let’s take a look at all the major events at the festival, including our prediction for the winner, and some betting tips for the race!
Champions Juvenile Stakes Preview
This Group 2 race is open to two-year-old thoroughbreds and showcases horses to be kept on the radar for years to come. Leading Britain and Ireland champion trainer Aiden O’Brien has two of the frontrunners in this race. He has dominated the Champions Juvenile Stakes since its inception in 2007, winning 10 of 17, including six in a row between 2010 and 2015. O’Brien is bidding for his third-straight win in 2024.
The field is incredibly short for the Champions Juvenile Stakes this year with just four runners. Aiden O’Brien has two runners in Delacroix and Bernard Shaw. Green Impact beat the former in second on his debut on this course and distance in July before bouncing back to win at the Curragh. The latter finished a promising fourth in the same race. Green Triangle rounds out this field. He crashed through the rails in his second to last race and folded when 2L clear turning into the straight at Tipperary in August. Delacroix is the horse racing betting favourite, worth 5/4 with our online sportsbook.
Champions Juvenile Stakes Betting Tips and Predictions
Predicted winner: Delacroix
Betting on fields this small is always a risk and takes away the opportunity for an each-way bet. However, Delacroix is 5/4 at the time of writing and may come in to odds-on by the time the flag drops on Saturday. Ryan Moore has opted to ride, suggesting he’s the best of the stable to second-string Bernard Shaw. Bet on Delacroix to help Aiden O’Brien to a third straight win in this race.
Green Impact is the biggest threat to O’Brien in this race. He has a win over Delacroix on this course and distance. However, Delacroix improved from his debut with an excellent time at the Curragh and can make another leap forward in this race.
Matron Stakes Preview
The Matron Stakes is the first Group 1 race of the festival. It is open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three or over and run over one mile. Ten runners will compete in this race with a prize pot of €236,000 up for grabs.
Porta Fortuna impressed with her win at the Coronation Stakes in June before comfortably winning the Falmouth Stakes a month later as the starting favourite. Tom Marquand’s ride is the betting favourite here. Fallen Angel put her 1,000 Guineas run behind her on her last outing in May, winning the Irish Guineas by 2¾ lengths. Ylang Ylang finished fifth in the Guineas but has been disappointing since, last finishing seventh over this course and distance in June. Jancis is unexposed and unbeaten but takes a big step forward in this Group 1. Soprano has progressed superbly throughout the season but this is the stiffest competition she has faced.
Matron Stakes Betting Tips and Predictions
Predicted winner: Porta Fortuna
Porta Fortuna has the best seasonal form in this race and may also have an edge in fitness after two months off. She can handle any ground and already has wins in Group 1 company. With Tom Marquand booked to ride, it will take a powerful performance to beat her. There are other horses of interest in this race, though.
Jancis is unexposed and unbeaten. The extra furlong shouldn’t trouble her going off the turn of foot she showed from the rear in her Group 3 Brownstown Stakes win here in July. She is worth 7/1 with our online sportsbook and has to be considered for at least place claims. Soprano is another with place claims. She stepped up to this distance to win the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot and has run well up in grade since.
Irish Champion Stakes Preview
The biggest race of the meeting comes at the Irish Champion Stakes. Eight runners will race over 1m2f for a €1,000,000 prize pot. This is another race that Aiden O’Brien has dominated, winning the last five and 12 overall. He has four runners in this race as he bids for a sixth straight Irish Champion Stakes victory for his yard.
Auguste Rodin is his best entry after the four-year-old won this race last year. He has six Group 1 wins, but was poor in the King George in July. He has bounced back from poorer performances in the past. Economics bids for his first Group 1 in an unbeaten season and William Haggas’s colt is the favourite in this race. He won the Dante at York in May, bolting six 6L clear before securing a Group 2 at Deauville in August. Luxembourg finished a narrow second in this race last year and won it in 2022. O’Brien’s colt likes to lead from the front, shown in his Coronation Cup win at Epsom in May. Clive Cox’s unbeaten juvenile Ghostwriter has run excellently all season and has been so unlucky not to win for his yard. He ran two big races behind Derby winner City Of Troy, including a 2L third in the Coral-Eclipse. Los Angeles finished third in the Derby in a race where he wasn’t at his best. He has won both starts since but will need to improve his speed in this drop in trip.
Irish Champion Stakes Betting Tips and Predictions
Predicted winner: Ghostwriter
Economics is the favourite for this race, but we think the bookmakers have priced him based on potential. Tom Marquand has a tough draw in stall eight and 10f might be too sharp for him with his best runs, indicating he would be better for a step up in trip rather than a drop. Auguste Rodin is an excellent horse on his day, but has started to gain a reputation for having a bad run when he is up there in the betting.
Ghostwriter has been incredibly unlucky to come up against three of the best three-year-olds in the world in City Of Troy, Look De Vega and Notable Speech. This assignment may be easier, and we predict that Clive Cox’s runner will finally have his day in the sun, worth 7/1 with our online bookmaker.
Racing near the pace could work out in Luxembourg’s favour and this race is more his distance. He won this race two years ago and finished second by just half a length last year. Don’t rule him out, and at 14/1 he is worth considering for an each-way bet.
Flying Five Stakes Preview
Thoroughbreds aged three or older can participate in this Group 1 race, which takes place over five furlongs at the Curragh. There is a €376,000 purse up for grabs in this race and its prestige has grown over the years, switching between a Group 3 and 2 between 1988 and 2015 before being upgraded to a Group 1 in 2018. Five-year-olds have won this race for the last three years.
The biggest story from this race is the renewed rivalry between Bradsell and Believing. Hollie Doyle’s ride beat Believing by three-quarters of a length in a thriller in the Nunthorpe last month. Bradsell finished third in this race last year and has progressed since. Those two are clear on form. Bucanero Fuerte will race over this trip for the first time since his debut, a race he won handily on the same course.
Flying Five Stakes Betting Tips and Predictions
Predicted winner: Believing
This race will surely come down to the Nunthorpe rivals once again and Bradsell leads the betting as an 8/5 favourite after beating Believing last month. However, Bradsell had a favourable draw while Believing came widest of all and still managed to reduce the deficit to less than a length. That run indicates that with a more favourable draw here, she can gain revenge at 3/1.
Moss Tucker won this race last year before reappearing with a listed win over this trip at Naas in April. He has run poorly twice over 6f since, but this is his optimum trip and the course and distance winner is an attractive each-way bet at 14/1.
Irish St. Leger Preview
One of the most exciting races of the festival comes in the Irish St. Leger at the Curragh on Sunday. Run over 1m6f and open to thoroughbreds aged three or older, this race has a purse of €460,000. Irish trainers have dominated this race with just two British winners in the last decade.
Aiden O’Brien’s Kyprios enters as a hot favourite to win his second Irish St. Leger as the best stayer in the division. He won this race in 2022 and Ryan Moore rides again after guiding him to an unbeaten season so far. Giavellotto arrives following a 4¾L victory in the Yorkshire Cup before a 3L Group 2 win in the Princess of Wales Stakes. He has excellent stamina and is built for this race. Vauban is highly decorated with a Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot win. Willie Mullins’ horse struggled before bouncing back with an impressive win in the Lonsdale Cup.
Irish St. Leger Betting Tips and Predictions
Predicted winner: Kyprios
Kyprios is the best horse in this race without a doubt, but at 8/11, there is little value in backing him. There could also be a question surrounding the trip with 1m6f perhaps not being his strongest distance. If any horse can take advantage of that in this race, it’s Vauban at 6/1. He will probably travel behind the pace before kicking on a few furlongs out. That is how he ran at York and he can get the better of Kyprios by repeating that performance at Curragh.
Irish Champions Festival Details
The going is currently Good in Leopardstown, with no change expected before the first race at 1:10 on Saturday. We can expect similar conditions at the Curragh, but the ground may improve to Good to Firm with some sunshine.
The Irish Champions Festival is one of the most exciting weekends on the horse racing calendar for all involved in the sport. Prize pots for these races are eye-watering, with millions up for grabs. Leopardstown and Curragh Racecourse both allow for enthralling sprints and chases with trips varying from 5f to 1m6f. Fans of horse racing can back our tips at a reduced risk when signing up for Novibet and claiming our welcome bonus.
