International Spotlight: Is Delacroix vulnerable in Irish Champion?

Delacroix is a short-priced favorite in Saturday’s Irish Champion (G1), but the Aidan O’Brien sophomore might not have as much margin for error as his odds suggest.  

The Irish Champion, a “Win and You’re In” for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), is one of a trio of Breeders’ Cup Challenge events at Leopardstown on opening day of the Irish Champions Festival. The Matron (G1) and the Champions Juvenile (G2) offer berths in the Filly & Mare Turf (G1) and Juvenile Turf (G1), respectively. 

Conditions will play a key role because the ground at Leopardstown is currently soft. 

Note also that with Ryan Moore sidelined by injury, Belgian ace Christophe Soumillon has picked up the mounts on Ballydoyle’s top hopes throughout the Irish Champions Festival, extending to the Curragh on Sunday. 

Before discussing the Irish Champion, a quick word on a couple of O’Brien trainees at attractive prices on the undercard.

In the Matron (Race 5 at 10:25 a.m. ET), #10 Exactly (10-1) is five times the price of likeable stablemate #11 January (2-1), who adds cheekpieces after knocking on the door. But Exactly is at her best on softish going. On ground faster than she prefers, she’s not that far off the principals, so the Frankel filly could bridge a fair bit of the gap in conditions that suit her. Exactly exits a decent sixth versus older males (including Rosallion) in the City of York (G1) on good-to-firm, and she has never been out of the exacta in four starts at Leopardstown. That makes her an each-way value play. 

In the Solonoway (G2) (Race 6 at 11:55 a.m. ET), #8 Expanded (12-1) returns for the first time since his classic hopes were dashed in the 2000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket and in its Irish equivalent back in May. The Wootton Bassett colt will appreciate the going, and fall could be his time of year. His two-year-old campaign consisted of two races in rapid succession last October, notably a neck loss in the Dewhurst (G1) in his only soft-ground opportunity. 

Race 7, 12:30 p.m. ET: Irish Champion (G1)

#5 Delacroix (6-5) has obvious points in his favor. In his two most recent starts, he traded decisions with the older Ombudsman, the world’s highest-rated racehorse. Delacroix mugged him in the Eclipse (G1), but Ombudsman turned the tables in the Juddmonte International (G1). 

Delacroix also has the local angle covered. The son of Dubawi and Hall of Famer Tepin sports a 3-for-3 mark at the 1 1/4-mile trip, including two victories in classic trials over this course at the beginning of the season. 

Yet Delacroix’s weapon is his turn of foot, and it’s not guaranteed that he’ll be able to deploy it to the same degree if the ground is genuinely soft. The only time he ran on ground listed as soft, he was outdueled by #6 Hotazhell (30-1) in last fall’s Futurity Trophy (G1) at Doncaster (more on him below). 

Moreover, Delacroix isn’t the only one with top form via Ombudsman. British raider #1 Anmaat (4-1) was last seen finishing second to Ombudsman in a strongly-run Prince of Wales’s (G1) at Royal Ascot, on ground that was unsuitably quick for him. The Shadwell homebred excels on softer going, as illustrated by his 40-1 upset of Calandagan in last fall’s Champion (G1) at Ascot. 

Anmaat has taken his game across the Irish Sea before, when runner-up in the Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1) at the Curragh in his May 25 reappearance. Finishing behind him that day were the classy filly Kalpana and #4 White Birch (7-1), who was fourth in his title defense. White Birch is a soft-ground aficionado with the class to factor, if he can reproduce his best effort off the summer layoff.

Japan’s hope #3 Shin Emperor (5-1), a better-than-appears third in the 2024 Irish Champion, returns for globetrotting maestro Yoshito Yahagi. But he’s resurfacing from a longer holiday. At this time a year ago, Shin Emperor was exiting a third in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1) in late May. This year, he hasn’t raced since his subpar seventh in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) on Dubai World Cup night, April 5. 

Shin Emperor is once again using the Irish Champion as his launching pad to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1). As a French-bred full brother to 2020 Arc hero Sottsass, the first Sunday in October in Paris has always been his destiny. He was only 12th on very soft going in last year’s Arc, implying that the ground might not be ideal for him here either. In any event, Shin Emperor needs to run well enough to set himself up for Longchamp. 

Last Sunday’s Arc trials shed some light on the form of #2 Royal Champion (15-1), who recently scored his biggest career win as an 8-1 shot in the York (G2). Almaqam, second as the York favorite, was a solid third in Sunday’s Prix Foy (G2), and Bay City Roller, only sixth at York, bounced back to miss narrowly in the Prix Niel (G2). Royal Champion needs to summon another new high to make a Group 1 breakthrough here, beyond what he managed when runner-up to Nations Pride in the 2023 Canadian International (G1) at a yielding Woodbine.

Hotazhell denied Delacroix in last fall’s Futurity Trophy by a hard-fought nose, but the two have gone in different directions this year. Delacroix has developed, while Hotazhell has yet to win again. 

On the other hand, Hotazhell really hasn’t had the right conditions to bring out the best in him. A ring-rusty third to Field of Gold when resuming in the Irish 2000 Guineas (G1), he raced over ground too firm for him in his only two ensuing starts, a fifth to Delacroix in the Eclipse and a fourth in the Saratoga Derby (G1). 

Rain-softened going at Leopardstown will give Hotazhell the chance to show whether he has indeed plateaued, or if he’s simply been undercut by circumstances so far. If it’s the latter, Hotazhell could be a sneaky place chance for Jessica Harrington.

Up-and-coming sophomore #8 Zahrann (6-1) is the wild card. Jockey-turned-trainer Johnny Murtagh has invoked the names of two other Aga Khan homebreds to describe him. Initially dubbing him as “our Calandagan,” Murtagh reached further back to mention the great Sinndar after Zahrann’s Royal Whip (G3) coup. 

Although Zahrann squeezed through and quickened smartly, the Royal Whip form doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. His 300-1 pacemaker held second, and Ballydoyle’s odds-on Los Angeles flopped in fourth.

Two starts back, Zahrann was second in Royal Ascot’s 1 1/2-mile King Edward VII (G2) to undefeated Amiloc, who has been mentioned as a Breeders’ Cup Turf candidate. Amiloc tackles older horses in Sunday’s Irish St Leger (G1) at the Curragh. 

Zahrann’s intrigue lies in his relentless progress over the course of the season, hinting that he’s yet to reach his ceiling. But can he achieve that on Saturday, or in the future? 

Rounding out the field is the Ballydoyle longshot #7 Mount Kilimanjaro (99-1), presumably to help Delacroix. His best talking point is that he was runner-up in the Criterium International (G1) on heavy going last season, and he could try to latch onto the trend of pacemakers exceeding expectations.