The English star Economics made light of a first step into Group One company to land a thrilling Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday under jockey Tom Marquand.
Despite his top-flight inexperience, the 7/4 favourite showed admirable resolution to get the better of last year’s winner Auguste Rodin by a neck with Japan’s Shin Emperor three parts of a length back in third.
It completed a Group One double on the first day of the Irish Champions Festival for Marquand who’d earlier landed the Coolmore Matron Stakes on another favourite, Porta Fortuna.
Prior to Saturday, the 26-year-old rider’s Leopardstown experience was confined to four previous rides, but the Englishman delivered two polished performances around a track with a history of catching out even the biggest names sometimes.
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“He’s not only a very good racehorse, he’s a proper warrior,” beamed Marquand. “It’s so hard taking on horses that know what’s happening and that course knowledge is big as well. He was exceptional.”
Marquand’s outside draw on Economics gave him options in a big race that saw Aidan O’Brien’s 2022 winner Luxembourg cut out the running.
Unlike a year previously when Luxembourg did the same thing, and gave his stable companion Auguste Rodin a perfect tow, the latter was taken back by Ryan Moore who wound up trailing Economics on the 9/4 second favourite.
Although hung wide, Marquand moved forward on the William Haggas trained winner and was in a good position to run down Luxembourg in the straight.
When he made his big move, Auguste Rodin appeared to have it covered and the Ballydoyle star briefly headed Economics at the furlong pole. The lightly raced three-year-old responded admirably though and in a tightly packed finish ultimately prevailed with some authority.
“It didn’t look very nice but he got the job done. I loved his head carriage in the last furlong, he really put his head down,” Haggas said afterwards. “I thought the other horse was going to come and beat him, but he beat him, thank God.”
It was a first English success in the €1.25 million Champions Festival highlight since 2018 and an apt winner for Economics’ owner Shaikh Isa Al Khalifa, who sponsored the big race.
The strapping chestnut colt was winning his fourth race from just a handful of starts and it propelled him to the forefront of Europe’s middle-distance pecking order alongside City Of Troy.
Aidan O’Brien’s Derby winner skipped Saturday’s race and is being prepared to run on dirt at the Breeders Cup Classic in November, ruling out a mouth-watering clash between the pair.
With Auguste Rodin set to be pointed at the Japan Cup, and Economics on target to try and secure another Champion Stakes at Ascot next month, the unusual pointer for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in three weeks’ time came from Shin Emperor.
Just a second Japanese runner in the race, the brother to 2020 Arc hero Sottsass ran a fine third despite struggling for room in the straight. If it was a tough introduction to Leopardstown for jockey Ryusei Sakai, it was a promising Arc warm up for a colt that also filled third in May’s Japanese Derby.
The winner though vindicated the decision to bypass a Derby campaign after an ultra-impressive Dante victory in May as patience got its reward.
“I am thrilled and for Sheikh Isa and William, it’s huge. I think it’s one we can all walk away from pretty satisfied. Those big calls made early in the season were probably tough to do but justified now,” Marquand concluded.
A return to the Breeders Cup is on the cards for Porta Fortuna, who landed a fourth career Group One in the Matron. Donnacha O’Brien’s filly 5/4 favourite had a length to spare over Fallen Angel in a race where the field wound up spread across the straight.
Runner up at the Breeders Cup a year ago, Porta Fortuna will try to go one better in the Mile at Del Mar.
“We’ll take her home and see how she is but all being well we’ll be going to Del Mar. She’ll get an easy week or two. I’ll have to confirm with the owners, but we had it in our heads that if she won here, she’d skip Newmarket (Sun Chariot Stakes) and we’d prep her for America,” O’Brien said.
Marquand added; “She’s electric, clearly the best filly in Europe, I’d say, at this distance and it’s a joy to be aboard her.
“I got a nice sit off Soprano and Fallen Angel and Billy (Lee on Verspertilio) just launched a bit of a swing wide and he caught my eye and I tried to step her up into gear a touch just to cover that move. She was even quicker to it than I thought she would be.
“She killed the race in three strides. She’s never done a ton in front but she never gives you a moment’s worry.”
Marquand was the first to complete the Matron-Champion Stakes double since Kevin Manning in 2008.
Fallen Angel will be upped to 10 furlongs for her next start in the Prix de l’Opera on Arc day after pleasing on her first start since landing the Irish Guineas in May.
“As a team we were just saying we’re as happy as we can be without winning,” said James Doyle, No 1 rider to Fallen Angel’s new owners, Wathnan Racing. Doyle got a two-day suspension for his use of the whip.
Marquand had earlier endured a less happy Leopardstown experience when Maljoom blew the start of the Solonaway Stakes and could never subsequently land a blow.
Instead it was Ryan Moore, who’d enjoyed no luck in running himself on Bubbling in the opening Ingablle Stakes won by Chantez, that prevailed on the odds-on favourite Diego Velazquez.
Moore had to settle for second in the KPMG Juvenile Stakes as the odds-on favourite Delcroix put in a somewhat laboured performance. Hard at work from before the straight, Moore got to within half a length of the winner Green Impact at the line.
Jessica Harrington’s colt got 33/1 Derby quotes for next year and the trainer said: “We can dream all winter. He’s a big horse and needs time to fill out his frame. I think we’ll see a really nice horse next year.
“I don’t know whether we’ll go to the Guineas first and then see what happens. I would love to win the Derby. He’s out of a Galileo mare so there is no reason why he wouldn’t get a mile-and-a-half.”
Out of luck in Leopardstown’s two Group One prizes, quarter of an hour after the Champion Stakes Aidan O’Brien secured an eighth St Leger success at Doncaster as Jan Brueghel landed the world’s oldest classic.
Sean Levey on the unbeaten winner proved a neck too good for his stable companion Illinois and became the 101st individual Group One winner for his legendary sire Galileo. It was a 21st English classic for Galileo.
“We knew the track would suit and the trip would suit. I think he’s showed he’s successful going that extra distance and I think he’s a Gold Cup horse in the making. Don’t be surprised if he steps up a bit next year, But he has a bit of class and he’s done that really well,” said Levey.
Saturdays official attendance at Leopardstown was 10,135, slightly up on 10,019 in 2023.
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