We have recently launched our ante-post betting market, for the 2017 G1 Irish Champion Stakes (Saturday, September 9th). This is one of Ireland’s biggest flat races of the year.
Needless to say, Aidan O’Brien’s horses dominate and plenty of bets have already come in for Cliffs Of Moher, Winter and Churchill. O’Brien hasn’t won this contest since 2011, however. Jean-Claude Rouget’s Almanzor won in 2016 and the 4-year-old has friends in the market again – as does stablemate Brametot. Will a French raider be spotted in the winners enclosure again, at Leopardstown next month?
Race Details
This race was inaugurated in 1976 and the distance is 1m 2f. The event is for horses aged 3 years or more. A generous 7 pounds allowance is given to 3-year-olds and 3 pounds is also allowed for fillies and mares. Let’s take a look at some of the other recent winners of this prestigious race.
Previous Champions
The Great Golden Horn was victorious, in 2015. John Gosden’s outstanding inmate also won the Feilden Stakes, the Dante Stakes, the Epsom Derby and the Eclipse Stakes, before memorably landing the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe under Frankie Dettori.
The 2014 winner was the Grey Gatsby, who was piloted by Ryan Moore. The Grey Gatsby is sired by Master Craftsman and is out of a dam called Marie Vison. He was foaled in March of 2011 and also won the Dante Stakes and the Prix du Jockey Club.
The Fugue was victorious in 2013. She was foaled in March of 2009 and this gutsy British brown mare won the Musidora Stakes (2012), the Nassau Stakes (2012), the Yorkshire Oaks (2013) and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (2014).
Snow Fairy won the Irish Champion Stakes in 2012. She is an Irish bay mare who was out of a dam called Woodland Dream. Her sire was Intikhab and she was bred by Windflower Overseas Holdings. Trained by Ed Dunlop, Snow Fairy was foaled in 2007. Her big victories include the Epsom Oaks (2010), the Irish Oaks (2010), the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup (2010, 2011) and the Hong Kong Cup (2010). Snow Fairy was named European Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 2010. She retired in 2013 after picking up a troublesome tendon injury.
The High-Chaparral-sired So You Think was the 2011 winner. This bay stallion was out of a dam called Triassic and is a Kiwi horse. Trained by Aidan O’Brien/Bart Cummings and owned by Dato Tan Chin Nam/Coolmore Stud, he was foaled in 2006 and has earned a staggering A$10 million in an incredible career. He also won the W.S. Cox Plate (2009, 2010), the Underwood Stakes (2010), the Yalumba Stakes (2010), the LKS Mackinnon Stakes (2010), the Tattersalls Gold Cup (2011, 2012), the Eclipse Stakes (2011) and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (2012). He retired in 2012.
Cape Blanco (2010 Champion) completes our list of recent winners. The Irish chestnut stallion was foaled in 2007. Sired by Galileo and out of a dam named Laurel Delight, Cape Blanco won over £2.5 million in total prize-money. His most memorable wins include the Tyros Stakes (2009), the Futurity Stakes (Ireland) (2009), the Dante Stakes (2010), the Irish Derby (2010), the Man o’ War Stakes (2011), the Arlington Million (2011) and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (2011). He was named Irish 3-Year-Old Colt of the Year (2010) and American Champion Male Turf Horse (2011).
Betting with RaceBets
The winner of this year’s Irish Champion Stakes will certainly be joining elite company. You can bet on all English and Irish races, when you open an account with RaceBets.
