Comer Group International Irish St Leger |
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| Grade 1, Curragh 16:25 €500,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 6f, Class 1  |
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The Comer Group International Irish St. Leger promises to be a captivating centrepiece at the Curragh on day two of the Irish Champions Festival this Sunday—an edition that feels as rich in narrative as it is in talent.
Sitting proudly atop the long-range market is Joseph O’Brien’s Al Riffa, a horse who’s made a habit of mixing it at the very highest level across the globe. His first attempt at a mile and three-quarters here last time out (replay below) was delivered with such authority that you’d be forgiven for thinking he’d been doing it all his life. He arrives now, tail up and full of confidence, and the opposition may find him a tough nut to crack.
Amiloc, for Ralph Beckett, arrives with an altogether different story: unbeaten so far, untested at this trip, and yet to show a single crack in the armour. His bloodlines whisper that this longer distance should be well within his compass, and the way he accounted for Irish Champion Stakes-bound Zahrann at Royal Ascot has only grown in stature with Zahrann’s subsequent exploits.
Then there’s Al Qareem, whose year has been both busy and productive, with this very race pencilled in since the spring. And what about Crystal Black? At seven, finally making a Group 1 debut, he remains the sort of admirable performer you suspect won’t let down his sporting connections, however the cards may fall.
Comer Group International Irish St. Leger
€500,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m 6f
9 runners
Going: Good to Yielding, Yielding in places
NO. (DRAW) FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
1 (2) 312114 Al Qareem 6 9-10 K R Burke Clifford Lee
2 (5) 0-3421 Al Riffa 5 9-10 Joseph O'Brien Dylan Browne McMonagle
3 (1) 111-42 Crystal Black 7 9-10 Gerard Keane Colin Keane
4 (6) 462342 Dallas Star 4 9-10 Adrian Murray David Egan
5 (7) 21-122 Illinois 4 9-10 A P O'Brien Christophe Soumillon
6 (8) 3-1441 Leinster 4 9-10 Joseph O'Brien W J Lee
7 (4) 00-663 Queenstown 5 9-10 A P O'Brien Ronan Whelan
8 (9) -23351 Waldadler 6 9-10 P Vovcenko David Liska
9 (3) 11-111 Amiloc 3 9-2 Ralph Beckett Rossa Ryan
