Arc de Triomphe trials: What did we learn from the Irish Champion Stakes?

The two favourites for the showpiece of Irish Champions Weekend, Economics and Auguste Rodin, duly lived up to their status in the betting by finishing 1–2 in a pulsating finish. But we won’t be seeing them lining up in Paris in the first Sunday in October.

To his credit, Economics’ trainer William Haggas – brilliant at his métier but still a source of frustration to many with his uber-cautious approach to campaigning top horses – did at least admit on Sunday that discussions had been held with the owner on the possibility of a U-turn on the stable’s default position (“no”) to an Arc bid. But with Haggas on one side of the table, it was unlikely that this conversation was ever going to be won by Bahraini owner Sheikh Isa on the other side, unless of course the latter was absolutely set on Paris. He evidently wasn’t.

Meanwhile, Aidan O’Brien confirmed the line that Ballydoyle had given the media earlier about Auguste Rodin’s future. The 2023 Derby winner will be trained for the Japan Cup, probably with breeding considerations in mind (he is a last-crop son of the revered Japanese stallion Deep Impact). As an aside, it appears that going first to Del Mar for the Breeders Cup Turf and then Tokyo just three weeks later is ruled out. While this comes as no surprise, it remains a point of complete astonishment to The Anteposter that he is not being steered towards Del Mar in the first week of November. The reigning holder of that crown, Rodin would be well suited to this track, where fast ground is guaranteed and a deadly turn of foot is a much better weapon than copper-bottomed stamina. The Japan Cup is a different ballgame altogether. But either way: What’s clear is that Paris would clearly be less of a fit, so unlike in the case of Economics this Arc no-show makes perfect sense.

But even with the first two past the post set to bypass the Arc, the Irish Champion Stakes still brimmed with possibilities for the first Sunday in October. Apart from anything else, when viewed on the basis of the ratings of the horses that participated the Irish “trial” looks the strongest of all. And more to the point, the third and fourth home faced constellations that were far from favourable yet ran eye-catching races. Make no mistake, these are players in Paris in three weeks’ time.

Sun to finally rise over Longchamp?

Japan’s Shin Emperor finished fast to claim third, having been blocked in his run a furlong from home. He had only just recently flown over to France from Japan, the key objective of his trip being to bring back the Holy Grail of European racing to the country that has now become the pre-eminent force in middle-distance turf racing on the flat. The Irish Champion Stakes was purely a prep run, the idea being to mirror the pathway to Paris of his Arc-winning full brother Sottsass, who himself ran fourth at Leopardstown before triumphing in Paris.

Shin Emperor ticks other boxes too. Big brother Sottsass won a heavy-ground Arc, so there is every reason for connections to be sanguine about how the Longchamp turf may come up on the day. Nor are large fields a concern: Shin’s three Group 1 attempts back home have been in fields of 16 or more. The last of those – the Japanese Derby – is particularly worthy of video study, as he made up an improbable amount of ground from a hopeless-looking position to finish third on lightning-fast ground. Last but not least, trainer Yohito Yashagi has consistently delivered outstanding results in recent years when travelling his horses around the globe. In summary, this latest Japanese contender to win the coveted Arc de Triomphe looks very live indeed.

Shin Emperor / Netkeiba

Los Angeles – “lummox” or Arc winner in waiting?

“The town of the angels, best this country can do,” sang US rock legend John Mellencamp back in the day, with biting sarcasm. The city’s latest equine namesake has also had his fair share of critics, with a number of commentators having chosen to pigeonhole him as something of a “a lummox”, i.e a plodder.  This feels quite harsh. 

For sure, Los Angeles grinds things out rather than ever winning impressively.  But maybe that’s just his style. Either way, there is no doubting that the drop to ten furlongs for the Irish Champion Stakes was a very left-field choice for this strong-staying type who only just does enough over twelve. With this running style, softer ground is a much better fit over ten furlongs. So full credit to Los Angeles’ connections, who were fully aware that they were sending one of their better colts to a battle he couldn’t possibly win. The idea was to learn more about him in unfavourable circumstances. This is a rare beast in top stallion-making races.

Fast forward a couple of minutes from the gates opening, and the stable had every reason to be delighted with how its Irish Derby winner performed. One of the first to come under pressure several furlongs out, and with seemingly no chance at all in second-last place at the three-furlong marker (with only the 250-1 pacemaker – who proved too slow to actually rise to that task – behind him), Los Angeles made up ground hand over fist to be beaten just over a length at the line. Longchamp next, and with stablemate Opera Singer having run indifferently in the Prix Vermeille the following day, there seems little doubt who stable jockey Ryan Moore will be riding come the first Sunday in October.  No, he’s not the “best the stable can do” this year, and very much in stablemate City of Troy’s shadow. But with that superstar bypassing the Arc, a penalty-shouldering G2 victory over Illinois now looking rock-solid form, and the prospect of more cut underfoot as the days shorten, Los Angeles has a sporting chance of adding to his brace of Group 1 victories in Paris and proving he is no lummox.

Los Angeles / Coolmore