Aidan O’Brien’s Kyprios is a red-hot favourite to win his second Irish St Leger crown at the Curragh on Sunday afternoon, as he looks to maintain his dominance in the staying division. Six rivals will take on the dour Ballydoyle stayer in the 1m 6f Classic, but Kyprios will start off a hot favourite for the showpiece contest. Our in-house tipster Steve Chambers previews the race here and picks out his 1-2-3 for the contest.
KYPRIOS
(Ryan Moore/Aidan O’Brien)
A three-quarters-of-a-length winner of this race back in 2022, Kyprios showed he was the best stayer in the UK & Ireland with a fine second victory in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot back in June. He followed that up with a sparkling four-length win in the Goodwood Cup at the Glorious Goodwood meeting in July. Four wins from four in 2024 means he will line up a hot favourite, but this drop back in trip to 1m 6f will certainly mean Ryan Moore has to kick for home a long way out as stamina is certainly his forte. However, he is the proven class act in the field and it’s going to be hard to see him not hand Aidan O’Brien his fifth win in this race in the last ten years.
GIAVELLOTTO
(Oisin Murphy/Marco Botti)
A fine four-and-three-quarter length victory in the Yorkshire Cup two starts ago, Giavellotto then followed that up with an impressive three-length victory in the Group 2 Princess Of Wales’s Stakes. Marco Botti’s five-year-old relished the drop back to 1m 4f at Newmarket, but he has shown in recent times that stamina is his forte. This test is absolutely tailor-made for him and if he can continue his fine form then he has to be a huge danger to Kyprios. It would be no shock to see Oisin Murphy look to steal the race from the front, as he’s certainly got a better kick than the market leader, but whether he can hold on that is the question!
VAUBAN
(William Buick/Willie Mullins)
A fabulous dual-purpose performer that has a Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot success on his CV and Vauban will bid for more notable silverware on Sunday in the Irish St Leger. The Willie Mullins-trained star has struggled in recent times to produce consistent performances, but he bounced back to form with a sparkling victory in the Lonsdale Cup. That came over 1m 6f, so it’s that trip that has brought out the best of him on the Flat and if he can travel well into the race then he could well unleash a strong turn of foot in the closing stages to challenge the two market leaders.
THE FIELD
Well beaten by Al Aasy in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury last time out, Karl Burke’s Al Qareem will be looking to record a first victory in nearly a year and is making the trip over from the UK. He’s struggled of late, so this is going to be a tough ask. The Euphrates will be the second string for the Aidan O’Brien yard and he’s like to have potential pacemaking duties for Kyprios here, while Crypto Force and Nastaria complete the line-up and look up against it at this level.
VERDICT
It may lack significant strength in depth, but Kyprios is entitled to be a hot favourite for this event and there’s no doubt he’s the best horse in the race. However, the 1m 6f may not be his best distance and if VAUBAN can emulate his York run by travelling in behind the pace and then kicking a few furlongs from home then he could potentially get the better of Kyprios, with Giavellotto finishing third.
2024 Irish St Leger Predicted 1-2-3
- Vauban
- Kyprios
- Giavellotto
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