Kevin Ryan's Kelinni winning at Leopardstown last year© Photo Healy Racing
A total of 52 horses trained in Britain are among a typically strong entry for the four €150,000 European Breeders Fund-sponsored handicaps on Longines Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown and the Curragh on September 10th and 11th.
The Irish Stallion Farms EBF ‘Petingo’ Handicap will again be the third race on the card at Leopardstown on Saturday, September 10th. Silwana took the honours for Dermot Weld last year and the leading Curragh trainer has three to choose from this time, including last Wednesday’s Bellewstown winner Radanpour who has been allotted 9st 2lbs. The Tony Martin-trained Quick Jack, third to his stable companion Heartbreak City in the Ebor at York is set to carry 9st 12lbs. Roger Varian’s Battersea finished a place behind Quick Jack in the Ebor and he heads the cross-channel challenge on top-weight of 10st while Charlie Appleby’s Oceanographer, seventh in the York race, has 9st 10lbs. In all there are 53 entries for the race, including eight from Britain.
There are 13 British-trained entries for the Irish Stallion Farms EBF ‘Sovereign Path’ Handicap which is the final race on the opening day of Longines Irish Champions Weekend. In all, there are 42 horses earmarked for the race, headed by last year’s winner and runner-up, Kelinni, trained by Kevin Ryan, on joint top-weight of 9st 12lbs and Richard Fahey’s Withernsea on 9st 3bs. The Willie McCreery-trained Colour Blue, Michael Halford’s Eastern Rules and Sabrina Harty’s Have A Nice Day finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively a year ago and they have been allotted 8st 13lbs, 9st 4lbs and 9st 3lbs this time. Other interesting runners would be the Ger Lyons-trained Sea Wolf and Dermot Weld’s Sikandarabad who finished first and second in the Tote Irish Cambridgeshire at the Curragh on Sunday. They have been given 9st 10lbs and 9st 4lbs respectively.
At the Curragh on Sunday, September 11th, the day opens with the Irish Stallion Farms EBF ‘Bold Lad’ Sprint Handicap for which there are 37 entries, including 20 from Britain. Richard Fahey’s George Bowen beat Master Speaker, trained by Martin Hassett, to win last year and both are set to feature again under 9st 1lb and 9st 2lbs respectively. David O’Meara won with Watchable in 2014 and he has entered both Dandyleekie (8st 5lbs) and Intisaab (9st 4lbs). The Andy Slattery-trained Sors, a winner over the course and distance on Sunday, has been allotted 9st 4lbs.
The final race of Longines Irish Champions Weekend is the Irish Stallion Farms EBF ‘Northfields’ Handicap with 11 of the 48 entries coming from Britain. David Wachman took this last year with Torcedor and he could be represented this time by Boherbuoy (8st 10lbs) while Ger Lyons, who saddled narrow runner-up Fog Of War, has made four entries including recent winners Elusive Heights (9st) and Savannah Storm (8st 8lbs). The Donal Kinsella-trained Maudlin Magdalen finished a close third in the race last year and has been allotted 8st 3lbs this time. The Kevin Prendergast-trained Aared came from off the pace to finish third in the Tote Irish Cambridgeshire on Sunday and he has been given an initial weight of 8st 9lbs. Of the British challenge, the weights are headed by Ed Dunlop’s Oasis Fantasy on 9st 12lbs while the Charlie Appleby-trained Gold Trail is the next highest contender on 9st 10lbs.
Derek McGrath, CEO of the Curragh Racecourse, said, “Both handicaps have all the ingredients to be two of the most competitive races of Longines Irish Champions Weekend and it is very positive to see so many British trained entries to add to the strong Irish contingent. These races enable a broad variety of owners to get into the spirit of the weekend by having a runner during one of the most prestigious weekends of racing in the Irish calendar.”
Pat Keogh, CEO of Leopardstown Racecourse, said, “The handicap races are a very important part of Longines Irish Champions Weekend. They offer excellent prizemoney of €150,000 for each race, thanks to the generous support of the European Breeders Fund. The races are very competitive and there are always a number of British-trained raiders in the fields. This adds that Ireland v Britain factor that gives an extra dimension to the weekend. These are very strong entries and we can look forward to two very competitive races on day one of Longines Irish Champions Weekend. “
