2024 Irish Champions Festival: Can Auguste Rodin defend his crown?

This weekend’s Irish Champions Festival features Breeders’ Cup Challenge events in five different divisions, spanning Saturday at Leopardstown and Sunday at the Curragh. 

The centerpiece is the Irish Champion (G1) itself, a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1). Auguste Rodin swept both prizes last year as a three-year-old, and the Aidan O’Brien trainee is back to defend his title at Leopardstown. 

But this time, the proverbial shoe is on the other foot. Now Auguste Rodin is the older horse trying to fend off younger challengers, led by early favorite Economics. 

Another difference is Auguste Rodin’s November goal. He’s aiming for the Japan Cup (G1), won by his legendary sire Deep Impact in 2006. 

Two more “Win and You’re In” races are on Saturday’s undercard. The Champions Juvenile (G2) offers a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), and the Matron (G1) plays that role for the Filly & Mare Turf (G1). 

Sunday’s action at the Curragh includes the Flying Five (G1) and Moyglare Stud (G1), “Win and You’re In” events for the Turf Sprint (G1) and Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), respectively. The Vincent O’Brien National (G1) is not part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, but it could yield clues for the Juvenile Turf (G1), and the same applies to the Blandford (G2) having ramifications for the Filly & Mare Turf. Finally, the Irish St Leger (G1) is worth watching just to see if the remarkable Kyprios can regain his title. 

Let’s take a quick look at Saturday’s undercard before diving into the Irish Champion.

Champions Juvenile (G2): Race 2, 8:40 a.m. ET

O’Brien’s Delacroix is all the rage after beating smart next-out winner Acapulco Bay in a Curragh maiden. The odds-on favorite has pedigree power too, as a son of Dubawi and Hall of Famer Tepin. 

The slight reservation is that strange things can happen in a four-horse field, beyond the fact that these are two-year-olds on the upswing. The Jessica Harrington-trained Green Impact bested Delacroix in a course-and-distance maiden, albeit with the benefit of a prior run. Two starts back, Green Impact missed narrowly in a hot Curragh maiden on Irish Derby weekend. He’s got more to offer himself, so it’s not a foregone conclusion that Delacroix has progressed past him. 

The other Ballydoyle chance, Bernard Shaw, took a leap forward from a fourth in that same Irish Derby weekend maiden to trounce a Dundalk maiden field. Even the outsider of the quartet, Joseph O’Brien’s Green Triangle, wouldn’t be a total shock since he’s still figuring things out. He would have won handsomely at Killarney if not swerving and crashing through the inner rail. 

Solonaway (G2): Race 3, 9:15 a.m. ET

Diego Velazquez, last year’s Champions Juvenile hero, reverts to a mile after a sensational display in the nine-furlong Meld (G3) at Leopardstown. The initial plan was the Saratoga Derby (G1) as a potential springboard to Australia’s Cox Plate (G1), but the Spa’s weather postponement prompted a change of plan. The Frankel colt is sharper than his stamina-laden half-brothers Broome and Point Lonsdale, although his optimal trip is still being ascertained.

The obvious alternative, Maljoom, is bound to break through in a mile major at some point. Dropping back in trip from an eighth in the Juddmonte International (G1) is the right idea, and the addition of cheekpieces could be the key.

At a price, Galen is intriguing for Joseph O’Brien. Second to City of Troy in his only juvenile start, the Gleneagles colt was rapidly progressive this summer until his anticlimactic fourth in the course-and-distance Desmond (G3). My suspicion is that came a bit too quickly in the wake of his monster efforts. Galen could be poised to bounce back and gain revenge on Desmond hero Mutasarref and runner-up Mountain Bear. 

Matron (G1): Race 4, 9:50 a.m. ET

Another liable to improve from a forgettable Desmond is Ballydoyle’s Ylang Ylang, who was a quietly-ridden seventh. Aidan O’Brien emphasized in advance that she was going to need that race badly to bring on her fitness. Last year’s Fillies’ Mile (G1) heroine was out of luck in a pair of British classics this spring, but she remains a top-class operator.

Porta Fortuna is clearly the one to beat given her rock-solid reliability at the highest level. Trainer Donnacha O’Brien is looking toward the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). Fellow sophomore Fallen Angel can’t be discounted, but she’s been sidelined since her convincing win in the Irish 1000 Guineas (G1) May 26. 

The sleeper could be another British-based three-year-old, Soprano. The George Boughey pupil has hinted of more than she actually achieved until finally putting it together in the Prix de Lieurey (G3) at Deauville last out. More aggressive tactics over a mile are apparently what she wants. 

Irish Champion (G1): Race 5, 10:25 a.m. ET

In a faint echo of last year, Auguste Rodin is once again seeking to rebound from a subpar effort in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth (G1) at Ascot. The sense of déjà vu isn’t exact, since he didn’t execute the same kind of spectacular flame-out as in 2023. Instead of being eased home last, Auguste Rodin settled for fading to fifth at Ascot.

His boom-and-bust pattern isn’t just about unsuitably soft ground. Auguste Rodin strikes me as the type who doesn’t deliver peak efforts in quick succession. 

With a freshening going into Irish Champions Weekend, at a track that has always suited him perfectly, Auguste Rodin should fire. Yet even if that hypothesis bears out, will he run well enough to repeat?

The pressing question is whether Auguste Rodin can give six pounds to his sophomore rivals. He benefited from that weight concession in last year’s running, when dethroning his older stablemate Luxembourg by a half-length. Luxembourg, who adds cheekpieces on Saturday, figures to be part of the race flow designed to help Auguste Rodin again. Their pacemaker, Hans Andersen, is supposed to do the lion’s share of that job. 

But others, including British raider Economics, wouldn’t mind a fast tempo. Trained by William Haggas, Economics pulverized the Dante (G2) field at York back in May and resurfaced to win the Aug. 15 Prix Guillaume d’Ornano (G2) at Deauville. Both came in relentless style from off the pace. 

The caution about Economics is that he’s trading at an awfully short price for a lightly-raced colt making his Group 1 debut. His Deauville victory is a stronger piece of form than the Dante. Still, his status as the market leader probably owes more to his flashy visuals and undoubted potential.

The sophomore with the best resume is O’Brien’s Los Angeles, whose only loss was a third to stablemate City of Troy in the Derby (G1) at Epsom. As a more workmanlike type, Los Angeles can be underappreciated, but he is 2-for-2 at this 1 1/4-mile distance. It’s also a pointer to his class that O’Brien prefers to revert to this trip after victories in the 1 1/2-mile Irish Derby (G1) and Great Voltigeur (G2), rather than go up into the stayers’ bracket for Saturday’s St Leger (G1) at Doncaster.

Indeed, O’Brien has said that Los Angeles is using the Irish Champion as a stepping stone to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1). We’ll see whether he has the pace to win this, but he won’t be far off. Slower ground, making for a greater stamina test, would maximize his chances. 

Also eyeing the Arc is Shin Emperor, who ships in from Japan for international maestro Yoshito Yahagi. He’s therefore a stablemate of Forever Young, the near-miss third in this year’s Kentucky Derby (G1). They share the same owner, Susumu Fujita, and jockey, Ryusei Sakai. 

Unlike Forever Young, Shin Emperor hasn’t been a win machine in the sophomore ranks at home. Yet he’s placed in three of his four losses, including a rallying third in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1) when last seen on May 26. The tactical race shape didn’t suit him at all.

What makes Shin Emperor intriguing in a European context is that he’s a French-bred full brother to 2020 Arc champion Sottsass, who prepped with a fourth in the Irish Champion. Sottsass handled all types of ground, from good to heavy.

Shin Emperor has encountered only firm turf in Japan, a far faster surface than Sottsass ever saw. What if he moves up in European conditions? Even good going would have a bit more give in it than the Japanese courses. Still, chances are that this will serve as more of a building block toward the Arc than a career breakthrough.

Yahagi has been plotting to repatriate Shin Emperor to France ever since he bought him as a yearling for a sales-topping €2.1 million at Arqana. Aside from the Sottsass connection, Shin Emperor is a half-brother to champion Sistercharlie and multiple Grade 3 winner My Sister Nat, runner-up to Yahagi’s Loves Only You in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar.

Not to be lost in the shuffle is the Clive Cox-trained Ghostwriter, who has been stealthily creeping up in the ratings with a series of respectable performances at the highest level. Fourth in the 2000 Guineas (G1) and Prix du Jockey Club (G1), he placed third to City of Troy in the Eclipse (G1) and Juddmonte International. The Invincible Spirit colt has yet to run a bad race in his life.