Kyprios bids to maintain unbeaten season in Irish St Leger

Kyprios has been an unlikely standard-bearer for Aidan O’Brien in 2022 and is hot favourite to put a seal on his superb season in Sunday’s Comer Group Irish St Leger at the Curragh.

The day two feature of Longines Irish Champions Weekend, due off at 4.10, finds itself in unexpected competition with the rearranged English Leger set to start just 15 minutes beforehand.

O’Brien and Paddy Twomey are represented in both races.

The filly Emily Dickinson will attempt to give O’Brien a seventh English Leger while the Irish Derby third French Claim has a shot at giving Twomey a first Classic.

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Despite a continuing investigation into how Twomey’s Rosscarbery was disqualified after weighing in light following June’s Pretty Polly Stakes, connections have played the supplementary card again to get her into the Irish Leger in pursuit of a Group One success.

There’s plenty to like about her chance of making the frame too, but in this race, and also in comparison to Doncaster, there’s no quibbling with Kyprios’s status as star attraction.

In a year when Ballydoyle’s three-year-old colts have so far failed to fire, Kyprios could hardly have done more to try and compensate.

In commercial terms, victories in both the Ascot and Goodwood Cups, while carrying the colours of Moyglare Stud, might not fit the usual Coolmore profile.

However, a colt who began the season as a comparative unknown has stamped his own type of quality on the staying division and could yet be in for a lengthy reign.

Dropping back to a mile and six isn’t expected to present any problem for Kyprios, who will line up against his older sister Search For A Song, winner of this race in 2019 and 2020.

The likely odds-on favourite is officially rated 6lbs clear of his nearest rival, although hotpot backers might recall Order Of St George’s Irish Leger defeat at 1-7 in 2016.

With rain forecast for Sunday, Princess Zoe may get dig in the ground for a first time this season and is another that looks to have credentials for the frame at her best.

Such conditions are unlikely to be ideal for both Group One two-year-old races, although the form of Ballydoyle’s juveniles, in stark contrast to their older stablemates, makes them hard to ignore.

Aesop’s Fables was too good for Hans Andersen in the Futurity while Meditate will be a name on many lips for the Moyglare.

Unbeaten in four starts to date, including the Debutante last time, this daughter of the increasingly influential No Nay Never has proven credentials her opposition lack.

In comparison Tahiyra has only run once in a maiden at Galway. She could hardly have been more impressive though and her half-sister Tarnawa boasted top-class form on every kind of surface.

Dragon Symbol’s best form was arguably on heavy going at Royal Ascot last year so there could be value in his Al Basti Flying Five chance against a bumper 18-strong opposition.

As well as Rosscarbery and French Claim, Twomey also sends out his top-flight star La Petite Coco to try and record back-to-back wins in the Group Two Blandford Stakes.

Aidan O’Brien will be in Group One action in Paris on Sunday where his Oaks winner Tuesday is joined in the Qatar Prix Vermeille by stable companion History.

Ioritz Mendizabal has been drafted in to ride Tuesday in the €600,000 highlight of Arc Trials-day, which is off at 2.50 Irish-time.

The Spanish jockey, a triple-French Classic winner for O’Brien in 2021, also teams up with Aikhal in the Prix Niel (3.25) and High Definition in the Prix Foy (1.23).

High Definition’s handful of opponents include the Australian superstar Verry Elleegant, who flopped in her European debut at Deauville.

Christophe Soumillon rides Verry Elleegant after Frankie Dettori opted to ride Haskoy in the Doncaster Leger.