Irish Champion Stakes Declarations: Delacroix faces seven rivals Delacroix will line up as favourite in Saturday’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, where eight runners will contest one of the highlights of the Irish Champions Festival. Delacroix leads the Leopardstown feature Aidan O’Brien’s Delacroix aims to follow up his Eclipse victory earlier this season as he takes on seven rivals at Leopardstown. The colt disappointed in the Derby but bounced back impressively at Sandown, producing a strong late surge to beat Ombudsman. Although he finished second to Ombudsman in the Juddmonte International at York, O’Brien is content to put that run aside given how the race unfolded. With the Gosdens opting not to run their charge, Delacroix heads into the Irish Champion Stakes as a strong market leader. Owen Burrows’ reliable Anmaat returns for his first start since Royal Ascot. The six-year-old, who won the Champion Stakes at Ascot last season, has only run twice this campaign but conditions at Leopardstown, currently soft and yielding in places, are in his favour. Japan’s Shin Emperor, trained by Yoshito Yahagi, is another notable contender. He was third behind Economics in last year’s race and has since finished runner-up in both the Japan Cup and in Saudi Arabia, though his last appearance was a below-par effort in Dubai in April. The field also includes White Birch, Karl Burke’s Royal Champion, Johnny Murtagh’s Zahrann, Jessica Harrington’s Hotazhell, and O’Brien’s Mount Kilimanjaro. Matron Stakes headlines supporting card The Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes provides another Group One highlight. Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel, who finished second in the race last year, returns after a win in the Prix Rothschild over O’Brien’s January, who reopposes with first-time cheekpieces. Also in the field are Coronation Stakes winner Cercene and the progressive Vera’s Secret, among a total of 11 entries.
