Vadeni will take on Mishriff and Luxembourg in a classy renewal of the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday.
Jean-Claude Rouget has targeted his three-year-old Vadeni at the 10-furlong contest since he beat his elders in the Eclipse at Sandown.
That day he held off the late thrust of John and Thady Gosden’s Mishriff, who many considered to be slightly unlucky in running at Sandown, and he will have another crack at the favourite.
Luxembourg was Aidan O’Brien’s big three-year-old hope of the season having gone unbeaten at two. Having run such a promising race when third in the 2000 Guineas, he unfortunately picked up an injury which kept him off the track until a winning return last month.
O’Brien also runs Stone Age, the choice of Ryan Moore in the Derby when sixth, and stable stalwart Broome, who counts the Hardwicke Stakes and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on his CV.
Onesto is another French challenger. Fifth to Vadeni in the French Derby, he broke his Group One duck in the Grand Prix de Paris last time out.
The William Haggas-trained Alenquer, winner of the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh earlier in the season, completes the field.
Dermot Weld’s Homeless Songs has missed many opportunities since her startling Irish 1,000 Guineas success but she has been declared among a field of 11 for the Coolmore America “Justify” Matron Stakes.
She will not have it easy, though, with Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Saffron Beach, who has won the Duke of Cambridge Stakes and Prix Rothschild on her last two outings, heading the opposition.
O’Brien’s Tenebrism, winner of the Prix Jean Prat and second in the Rothschild, takes her chance along with Paddy Twomey’s Pearls Galore, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Lights On and Joseph O’Brien’s Agartha.
Simon and Ed Crisford can do little wrong at present and their Jadoomi looks the one to beat in the Clipper Logistics Boomerang Mile.
Jim Bolger’s Boundless Ocean and Just Beautiful, now with Twomey having previously raced for Ivan Furtado, are also among the eight declared.
Aidan O’Brien’s Auguste Rodin and Tower Of London are among five in the KPMG Champion Juvenile Stakes. Donnacha O’Brien’s Alder, Bolger’s Serious Challenge and Joseph O’Brien’s Caroline Street complete the quintet.
New London, meanwhile, heads a field of nine for Saturday’s Cazoo St Leger at Doncaster. The Dubawi colt has won four of his five career outings with his sole defeat coming in the Chester Vase on testing ground.
With the St Leger winner Masked Marvel among his relatives, Charlie Appleby will be hoping to add to last year’s win in the race with Hurricane Lane. His main market rival is Roger Varian’s Eldar Eldarov, another who has only met with one defeat in his career to date, last time out in the Grand Prix de Paris.
Prior to that, he had won the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot over the St Leger trip and Varian feels his charge will be better for going there fresh.
“He ran in a novice race at Newcastle towards the end of May where he won under a penalty, then he went on to Royal Ascot and won the Queen’s Vase. The Queen’s Vase was a tough race; from there he went to Paris,” said Varian.
“I felt going to York would come a bit close to the Leger. I was happy that we could train him into the St Leger off a reasonable gap and I think he goes well fresh. I’m not sure whether he was at his best [in France] or whether he showed that day he was a real staying horse.”
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Varian won the St Leger with Kingston Hill in 2014, his breakthrough Classic success.
“I would say Kingston Hill and Eldar Eldarov are a bit different to each other,” said Varian. “Kingston Hill was a great big solid, improving horse. He ran second in a Derby and fourth in an Eclipse. He really brought Group One form into the race and was a deserving favourite. Eldar Eldarov has been a bit more unfurnished in the early part of his career and he’s just starting to flourish now.
“Kingston Hill didn’t race past three, but I would hope Eldar Eldarov will be better as a four-year-old and even better as a five-year-old.”
Ralph Beckett has supplemented his unbeaten filly Haskoy to take on the boys while Irish Derby third French Claim represents Paddy Twomey. Hoo Ya Mal was placed in the Derby before being bought by Australian connections to run in the Melbourne Cup and subsequently moved to George Boughey for a crack at the Classic.
He won easily at Goodwood last time out. Giavellotto will aim to give Marco Botti and Neil Callan a first British Classic while Emily Dickinson represents Aidan O’Brien. Andrea Atzeni was due to take the ride on Martyn and Freddie Meade’s Zechariah, but the colt was not declared and he now rides El Habeeb, who ran in the Derby for Stan Moore but is now with Kevin Philippart De Foy. Ivan Furtado’s outsider Lizzie Jean completes the field.
