Easy Irish St Ledger success for Order of St George at Longines Irish Champions Weekend

Having been a winner of this Group 1 event by 11 lengths with Joseph O’Brien in 2015, Order Of St George justified his tag as race favourite by again dominating the field to win by nine lengths from Torcedor in second and Mount Moriah in third, with last year’s winner Wicklow Brave in fourth.

In doing so, Order Of St George becomes only the fourth dual winner of the event alongside Vintage Crop, Oscar Schindler and Kayf Tara, although he has some way to go before emulating the feat of four-time race winner Vinnie Roe. However, O’Brien’s star already claims a slice of history becoming the first horse to regain the prize, having finishing second to Wicklow Brave last year.

Having enjoyed something of a mixed Irish Champions Weekend – riding in defeats for Winter and Churchill yesterday at Leopardstown but saw success on Caravaggio also today, jockey Ryan Moore seized the initiative as the field of 10 runners turned for home.

The move to keep Order of St George in the middle of the pack as Lord Yeats made the early pace was a shrewd one, as once Moore and his mount took the lead with three furlongs remaining, there was only going to be one winner.

Torcedor led those in his wake in second, being four and a half lengths clear of Mount Moriah in third, with Wicklow Brave a further three-quarters of a length back in fourth. Dartmouth, the horse of Her Majesty The Queen, disappointed by finishing well off the pace further down in eighth.

O’Brien’s trio of Sunday winners at The Curragh began with that victory for Caravaggio in the Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes.

The backing as race favourite was rewarded as Moore steered his mount home to the Group Two success by a length’s distance from outside Alphabet in second and Son Of Rest in third.

There was further joy and another Group One 1-2-3 for O’Brien in the Moyglare Stud Stakes as Happily narrowly turned the tables on Debutante winner Magical, with Royal Ascot winner September chasing the pair home.

Happily started smartly and soon settled in behind the front-running Magical, who for much of the race, with Ryan Moore at the helm, looked as if she was going to repeat the success of her last run.

In the straight it was the Jessica Harrington-trained Alpha Centauri who caught the eye travelling best, with September also picking up well under pressure out wide. But Magical stuck to his task gamely albeit to be caught in the dying strides by Happily and Donnacha O’Brien by a short head’s distance, who won in almost identical fashion aboard Intricately last year. September took third place three and three-quarter lengths back.

The Group One Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes was expected to be an interesting tussle and so it proved as the J S Bolger-trained Verbal Dexterity took the honours albeit in rather more comfortable fashion than anticipated.

The Malcolm Elliott-trained Beckford went in as race favourite but jockey Kevin Manning saw Verbal Dexterity to a useful three and a half length success, with Rostropovich a further two and three-quarter length’s distance back in third.