Roaring Lion lands Longines Irish Champion Weekend’s Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown

The John Gosden-trained horse, ridden by Oisin Murphy, lived to the favourite’s tag by coming in a neck’s distance clear of Aidan O’Brien’s Saxon Warrior in second and Deauville in third.

The Irish Champion Stakes was a race billed as a showdown between the first two home in what was their sixth meeting, Roaring Lion now having won four of the six.

Ridden by the in-form Oisin Murphy, who earlier on the card had ridden his first winner in Ireland aboard the Willie Mullins-trained Limini in the Premier Handicap, Roaring Lion looked to have plenty to do with two furlongs to run as jockey Ryan Moore kicked for home on Saxon Warrior.

However, despite the latter sticking on gamely the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas winner was just worn down late on by his old foe who charged down the outside to take the race by a neck.

In doing so it denied Moore and O’Brien a big-race double on Saturday having dashed by helicopter to Ireland from Yorkshire from his win in the St Leger at Doncaster.

Roaring Lion’s victory was the third win for Gosden in this ten-furlong showpiece in the last six years, following on from The Fugue in 2013 and Golden Horn in 2015.

A delighted Murphy said: “I didn’t have much experience of Leopardstown and was really learning on the job. But I had the right horse and this win in my home country means the world to me. I wondered how I’d react if we won and all I can say is that it’s a surreal feeling.

“The complexion of the race changed a few times. Saxon Warrior had first run on us but once my horse balanced out after the bend I always thought I’d get there.”

There was a something of a surprise in the Coolmore Fastnet Rock Matron Stakes as favourite Alpha Centauri, was beaten by Laurens.

Alpha Centauri was seeking a fifth straight Group One win, however it was the Karl Burke-trained horse ridden by Danny Tudhope who came good with a front-running ride to win by three-quarters of a length. Aidan O’Brien’s Clemmie, ridden by Seamie Heffernan, was third with the trainer’s Magical and Happily, ridden by Ryan Moore and Donnacha O’Brien, were fourth and fifth respectively.

The O’Brien/Moore combination did however see success in the Group 2 Boomerang Stakes courtesy of I Can Fly.

The winner came in a comfortable length and three-quarters to the good ahead of another of stablemate Kenya, ridden by Heffernan, in second and Pincheck in third. The third of O’Brien’s trio in the race, Prepare For Battle, under Donnacha O’Brien, was fifth.

Day two of The Longines Irish Champion Weekend heads to the home of Ireland’s classics, The Curragh, Co. Kildare today (Sunday) with four Group 1 races featuring on the eight-race card. The feature race of another exciting afternoon of racing is the final Classic race of the season, the Comer Group International Irish St Leger with total prize money of €500,000.