Almanzor, the French Derby winner, powered past one of the strongest fields ever assembled in Ireland to win the Irish Champion Stakes here on Saturday evening, leaving a field that included seven other previous Group One winners in his wake as he beat Found, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, by three-quarters of a length. Minding, the winner of two British Classics this year, was third, while Harzand, the Derby winner in Britain and Ireland, was eighth across the line.
The most eagerly anticipated Flat race in Ireland for many years was in the balance until well inside the final furlong after Found struck for home under Frankie Dettori, a replacement rider after Seamie Heffernan suffered a fall in the St Leger at Doncaster.
Dettori grabbed a useful lead, but Christophe Soumillon, Almanzor’s jockey, was already charging in pursuit down the centre of the track. The two horses were briefly stride for stride, but Almanzor had the speed and momentum to carry him to a victory that Soumillon was able to celebrate as his mount passed the post.
Jean-Claude Rouget’s colt, a 7-1 chance, was a worthy winner and is now among the market leaders for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly on 2 October. He has not displaced Postponed, the International Stakes winner, as the favourite for Europe’s showpiece event, however, and could yet head instead for the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot two weeks later.
The issue with Almanzor is the Arc’s one-and-a-half mile trip, two furlongs beyond his longest race to date. Soumillon, twice an Arc-winning jockey, seems confident that the step up in distance would not be an issue, but Rouget expressed some doubts in the winner’s enclosure and it is not a decision that Almanzor’s connections will rush.
“He’s very relaxed and he was so comfortable all through the race,” Soumillon said. “He never pulled, he was changing legs at the perfect time and very well-balanced. I never had doubts at any point.
“At the last turn, I saw that a few of the good horses in front of me were not going that well and Frankie was probably the one that was travelling most easily with Found. I saw he was going to the inside and I thought I might not have time to come out, so I took the outside in the straight and he really responded like I was hoping he would. He did it like a champion.
“I hope Jean-Claude will discuss it with the owners now and he will go for the Arc de Triomphe. He’s looked like a horse that can make it. At Chantilly you need horses with some speed and he has that so it would be good to try him in the big race. He goes on any ground and he has a lovely action.”
Rouget, who had earlier seen his filly Qemah finish third when favourite for the Group One Matron Stakes, will take his time to decide on Almanzor’s target. “It’s not today that we’ll choose,” he said. “At the beginning I chose this race because I thought he was more of a mile-and-a-quarter horse, but with a champion you can do it. It’s like [the 2008 Arc winner] Zarkava, you can do it. We thought she was a miler and she won the Arc too.”
Postponed still heads the Arc market at a top price of 4-1, while Almanzor is generally a 6-1 chance and Harzand, who was racing here for the first time since June, is a 10-1 chance alongside Minding. Makahiki, the Japanese Derby winner, goes on trial in the Prix Niel at Chantilly on Sundayand is currently 8-1 to be Japan’s long-awaited first winner of the Arc.
Alice Springs returned to Group One-winning form with a convincing success in the Matron Stakes, passing the field in the short home straight after turning for home in last place. Aidan O’Brien’s filly started at 5-1 after following up her success in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket’s July meeting with a disappointing run in behind Qemah in the Prix Rothschild at Deauville three weeks later.
Qemah raced too freely in the early stages and had nothing left to give as Alice Springs powered into a clear lead inside the final furlong. John Gosden’s Persuasive, stepping up to the highest level for the first time, was three-and-a-quarter lengths adrift of the winner at the line, with Qemah only third.
Possible targets for Alice Springs include the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Champions Day in mid-October and the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita three weeks later.
“She’s hardy and she could do both, but it would depend on what the ground is like at Ascot because she likes a nice bit of ground,” O’Brien said. “She’s quick, and she’s a good traveller and she was a bit unlucky in the Breeders’ Cup last year [when second in the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf].”
Moore felt that the racing surface at Deauville could be a reason for Alice Spring’s recent disappointment.
“She was impressive at Newmarket and for whatever reason, she didn’t run well at Deauville, but I thought she’d have every chance on her Newmarket run and she was back to her best, she was impressive,” Moore said. “I just got her comfortable and she came home well, when she gets a good pace she’s a really good filly. I think the track at Deauville had been watered and was a bit inconsistent.”
Bookmakers believe that California is the most likely destination for Alice Springs and she is a 4-1 chance for the Mile with Coral, who also offer 12-1 for the QEII.
