This is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best weekends of the Flat season. Not only do we have Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown and the Curragh, we also have the St Leger Festival at Doncaster. Dave Stevos has been studying the form and he has come up with four horses at big odds for a 2025 Irish Champions Weekend & Doncaster Leger meeting e/w lucky 15 (and four e/w singles), find out who he fancies below.
1.50 Doncaster Friday – Flying Scotsman Stakes (Listed)
Hopefully, Sunset On Leros can get us off to a flier in the
Flying Scotsman. Trained by Marco Botti, this son of Almanzor didn’t show a
huge amount when a pretty well beaten fourth of five on debut at Newmarket in June.
However, he left that run well behind on his second start in a class 2 novice
over this C&D a month later.
Drawn in stall 1, Sunset On Leros bounced out, travelled
strongly close to the pace and when Benoit De La Sayette asked him to go and
win his race around 1.5f out, he quickened up in the manner of a smart horse
and surged clear to win by almost three lengths.
Back in second was a horse called Allegresse and he went on
to win a novice at Kempton by 9.5l on his next start so there is some substance
to the form. This is obviously a step up in class but I think 20/1 looks a
shade generous given the manner of his win here last time out. At those
odds, Sunset On Leros is the each way selection. Hopefully he enhances Marco Botti’s fine frame hitting strike
rate with 2yos at this venue (12/72 with 30 top 4s).
2025 Irish Champions Weekend Tip: Sunset On Leros e/w @ 20/1
1.50 Doncaster Saturday – Champagne Stakes (Group 2)
Usually, I leave small field races well alone but I am
making an exception here. There was plenty of bullish chatter about St Mark’s Basilica’s
first crop of foals before the season began and while he made a pretty slow
start, in the last couple of months he has had some nice winners, none more so
than Cape Ashizuri who ran out a 2l winner on his debut at Ayr (6f, gd-sft) in
July.
That was a six-runner race and four of the five horses that
finished behind have won since. The only horse that has failed to win from that
contest is now rated 84 so it looks solid form. Cape Ashizuri got badly outpaced
before picking up late and running on strongly in that contest and it was a very encouraging debut
effort.
This colt is out of Muravka, a High Chaparral mare that has
already produced the Japanese G3 and G1 placed Unicorn Lion, the Coventry and Prix
Morny winner The Wow Signal and the French Listed winner Miss Infinity. He is
bred to be a stakes horse and on the evidence of that debut win, he looks like he
is. On breeding and run style the step up to 7f should really suit and he won’t
mind a bit of an ease in the ground. At odds of 14/1, back Cape Ashizuri e/w.
2025 Irish Champions Weekend Tip: Cape Ashizuri e/w @ 14/1
3.50 Leopardstown Saturday – CMG Group Stakes (Group 3)
If Al Aasy runs to his rating of 115, he is clearly going to
be hard to beat here. However, he’s an 8yo now and he’s had an up and down
season so far, so he is not guaranteed to repeat the level of form he showed
when landing a Goodwood G3 in fine style early last month.
3yos have an okay record in this race and I think It’s A
Heartbeat may be capable of outrunning her odds of 50/1 for John O’Donoghue and
Nathan Crosse. This filly first came to my attention when I did the spotlights
for her 1m4f Curragh maiden win (good) in June. Thankfully, I tipped her to win
and despite being weak in the market, she did exactly that.
After a short break, she was sent off at 11/1 for her handicap
debut at the same venue (good) three weeks ago and she made a mockery of her
mark of 89 to hose up by over 3l. She showed she handled an ease when a shade
unlucky in running on debut at Naas (1m2f, yielding) so if the track doesn’t
dry out, the ground shouldn’t be a big issue.
I think if this unexposed filly were trained in a more fashionable yard, she would probably be half her current price of 50/1 so at the odds, she is worth chancing e/w.
2025 Irish Champions Weekend Tip: It’s A Heartbeat e/w @ 50/1
1.30 Curragh Sunday – Bold Lad Sprint Handicap (Premier)
I tipped
up Tango Flare for a couple of races this season to no avail. He probably
should have gone close to winning in a premier handicap here in May off a mark
of 97 and since then, I reckon all roads have led to this race.
Three of his last four starts have come in either listed or
rated races and at Fairyhouse in June in a 6f rated race, he finished just 2.5l
behind the now 104 rated King Cuan off level weights. 7f was never likely to
suit in a listed race at Cork last time and I’d imagine that run was designed to
keep him ticking over for another crack at this huge pot.
In last year’s renewal Pat Foley’s son of Fulbright ran a blinder to finish a 1.5l third behind My Mate Alfie off a mark of 99. He is 8lb lower now and if the 6yo gets back to the form he showed in this last season, he has to have a right chance off his current mark. At odds of 25/1, Tango Flare is the each way pick.
2025 Irish Champions Weekend Tip: Tango Flare e/w @ 25/1
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