Irish Spot Plays for the Curragh Sept. 14

Although the action at Leopardstown on Saturday included Delacroix’s fine performance in the Irish Champion (G1), the second day of the Irish Champions Festival, at the Curragh on Sunday, arguably features a far more competitive collection of Group stakes.

Here are several horses of interest on a card that includes Ireland’s top juvenile events, as well as its final classic of the season.

Race 4: Flying Five (G1), 10:15 a.m. ET

This bulky field of 16 includes several course specialists, including a pair from the Adrian Murray yard. Interestingly, jockey David Egan lands on #6 Arizona Blaze (8-1) rather than his older, more accomplished stablemate Bucanero Fuerte.

Although Arizona Blaze threw in the towel after a half mile of the Nunthorpe (G1) last month, it was obviously not a representative performance, and I would expect the sophomore to fare better on a course over which he’s posted a 6-3-1-2 record. 

Arizona Blaze has come close several times at Group 1 level and, if the Nunthorpe was not an early indication of fatigue after a long season, he has appeal at the current market odds.

Race 5: Vincent O’Brien National (G1), 10:50 a.m. ET

A strong edition of this seven-furlong test for two-year-olds. I’ll lean against odds-on favorite Gstaad and the underrated Zavateri (again) and side with #5 Saba Desert (9-2), a sharp winner of the Superlative (G2) at Newmarket when last seen in July.

Despite a potentially bad start in the Superlative, when he reared leaving the stalls, Saba Desert recovered quickly and proved best to make it 2-for-2, both tries over this distance. If he’s matured some in the interim, he figures competitive at a better price than Gstaad.

Race 6: Irish St Leger (G1), 11:25 a.m. ET

At this writing, less than 24 hours before post time, #5 Illinois (9-5) was trading around 5-2 in overseas markets, which I think is great value. Although he hasn’t quite transitioned into the stable’s top stayer following the early-season retirement of Kyprios, Illinois’ last two runs were far from disgraces. 

Illinois was easily second best in the Gold Cup (G1) at Royal Ascot to Trawlerman, who had already proven proficient over the demanding 2 1/2-mile distance. And last time, in the Goodwood Cup (G1), Illinois conceded loads of weight to three-year-old stablemate Scandinavia and missed by less than a length. Scandinavia, of course, showed plenty of fight to follow up in Saturday’s English St Leger (G1).

If a plurality of punters continues to gravitate toward Al Riffa ahead of this 1 3/4-mile test, the honest Illinois is the one I’ll back.