Irish St Leger Tips: Twomey raider the value against Kyprios at the Curragh
Aidan O'Brien will bid for a sixth Irish St Leger crown on Sunday afternoon, and the master of Ballydoyle will saddle the red-hot favourite Kyprios, who has been a real revelation in the staying division this season, and he will head to the Curragh as the one to beat. Our man Steve Chambers previews the Group 1 Classic here and picks out his best bet for the event...
Having beaten dual Irish St Leger winner Search For A Song on his seasonal reappearance in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan at the start of the season, Kyprios then used a Group 3 win at Leopardstown as a stepping stone to winning the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, where he got the better of the legendary Stradivarius. Locking horns with that iconic stayer and top notch performer Trueshan in a real hum-dinger at Glorious Goodwood, Kyprios extended his winning run to four with a gutsy victory over that heavyweight pairing, and he's back to try and land another prestigious event this weekend.
Dropping back in trip for this 1m 6f contest, the four-year-old has shown that not only does he have bundles of stamina, but he does have a turn of pace and for all money he looks to be far the best horse in the race, so providing he can produce a similar run to what he's been showing then he can dominate what is a race that is devoid of significant strength in depth and land the spoils at 4/7.
Joseph O'Brien's Raise You has progressed eye-catchingly well this season and was last seen bounding to a fine victory over Search For A Song in the Irish St Leger Trial last time out, and he's entitled to take his chance here and is the 5/1 second favourite. Having finished down the field in the Balmoral Handicap at Ascot on Champions Day last season, O'Brien's charge has blossomed this season, but this is a notable step up in class here and he could find it tough.
Dual winner Search For A Song (18/1) will attempt to be the first horse since Vinnie Roe to win three Irish St Leger and Dermot Weld's raider is back for another crack at the event. However, the six-year-old has struggled to get his head in front in recent times and was well beaten by Raise You last time out, so has to be ignored.
William Haggas will bid for a first win in the Irish Classic and he will saddle a fascinating runner in the shape of Hamish, who has some top notch form on his CV and at 10/1 is of interest. Last seen bounding to victory in the Ormonde Stakes at Chester way back in May, Hamish hasn't been seen on the track since, but he showed when fourth to Trueshan in the Long Distance Cup at Ascot last season that he can perform to a high level and he could be one of the main dangers to the red-hot jolly.
Paddy Twomey's ROSSCARBERY has been in the form of his life this season winning five of his seven starts, and he showed two starts ago when beating lively St Leger outsider Emily Dickinson in a Leopardstown Group 3 that he can deliver on the big stage. Currently, an 11/1 shot, the fast-improving four-year-old was last seen finishing a narrowly beaten second in a Group 1 in France, and while this is a much tougher task on paper, Twomey's charge has to be respected. That French second place came over 1m 2f, but his win over Emily Dickinson was over 1m 6f, so the step back up in trip is sure to improve his chances and at the prices he has to be the each-way value in the race.
Of the others, the Tony Mullins-trained Princess Zoe (28/1) has competed at the highest level for a few seasons now, but has been struggling to fire on all cylinders, while last-time-out winner Camorra, who won the Curragh Cup impressively will take his chance here, but the 22/1 shot should be outclassed in a race that Kyprios should breeze to victory, but Rosscarbery is the bet in the race.
