Hotazhell springs major upset in Irish Champion Stakes

DUBLIN – Hotazhell fended off a withering late run from Wimbledon Hawkeye to become the longest-ever priced winner of the €1.25 million (S$1.84 million) Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes (2,000m) at Leopardstown on Sept 12.

Despite landing the Group 1 Grand Dallmayr Prize (2,000m) in Munich on July 26 last time, the Too Darn Hot four-year-old looked up against it on paper on day one of the Irish Champions Festival.

He was sent off a staggering $268 chance (on the Singapore tote) as all eyes were on Item, Almaqam and Constitution River, who all set down for what was anticipated to be a mouth-watering rematch from the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes (2,000m) at York.

It soon became apparent that neither Item (Colin Keane), the Juddmonte International winner, nor first runner-up Almaqam (Kieran Shoemark) were going to land a blow as Constitution River (Ryan Moore) cruised into the lead passing the 400m marker.

However, the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt – who will likely be retired to stud at the end of the season – was swiftly joined by Jessica Harrington’s Hotazhell and the fast-finishing Wimbledon Hawkeye (Christophe Soumillon).

After shifting dramatically left-handed and striking the front late on, Hotazhell managed to desperately cling on under Shane Foley to deny Wimbledon Hawkeye victory by a nose.

Constitution River finished tamely back in third. Almaqam ran fourth, and Item never managed to get involved and ultimately finished well-beaten in sixth.

Harrington obviously disagreed with the punters after Hotazhell’s third Group 1 success.

“I didn’t think he deserved to be 50-1,” she said. “He won a Group 1 in Germany last time and came here in good form. If you look up all his form from last year – on ground which was always too quick for him – he kept on trying and got his conditions today.

“He’s very strong (Shane Foley) but this horse is very tough, he knows where the winning post is and puts his head down on the line.

“We always thought the world of him. Last year was just one of those years, he should have won in America but got a bad run around, things just didn’t go right for him.

“Even at the beginning of this year, he took a while to get going.

“It’s fantastic to get this one on the CV. These winners are hard to come by and when they do come, you must enjoy them.”

A battling winner over Delacroix in the 2024 Group 1 Futurity Trophy Stakes (1,600m) as a juvenile, the six-time victor could now be ready for a return to British shores, with Harrington eyeing an Irish-British Champion Stakes double at Ascot in October.

“He’s in the (Group 1) British Champion Stakes (2,000m), so we’ll most likely go there before he goes off to become a stallion,” she added.

“He always was a good horse. He was a very tough two-year-old and just things went wrong as a three-year-old really.”

Two races earlier, the Andrew Balding-trained mare Blue Bolt ($8) completed a high-class Group 1 hat-trick with a routine success in the Group 1 Matron Stakes (1,600m).

Unbeaten this season, the Blue Point four-year-old headed to Ireland for the first time in her career looking to make it five wins on the bounce. She followed up Royal Ascot’s success in the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes (1,600m) with victories in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes (1,600m) and the Group 1 Prix Rothschild (1,600m).

Blue Bolt had accounted for Precise on her last two starts but it was a different Irish challenger that emerged the main danger this time, with City Of Memphis (Billy Lee) moving threateningly on the far side.

However, once asked to challenge, Blue Point responded well under Keane, pulling away to land another Group 1 prize by 2¼ lengths.

Trainer Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel (James Doyle) – who had defeated Blue Bolt when they met in the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes (1,600m) last season – posted a solid effort back in third.

“It was an easy watch to be honest,” said Balding. “You just have a little bit of jitters when you’re expected to win but watching the race, we never really had an anxious moment.”

“Colin was always in the right place. It was run at a true gallop and she looked very good.”

Run as a Group 1 event for the first time, the Golden Fleece Stakes (1,800m) was taken out easily by O’Brien’s Darkness Falls ($11).

The Camelot two-year-old colt travelled powerfully under Moore and once sent to the front, he lengthened away in the manner of a top-class prospect to score by 4¼ lengths.

On day two of the Irish Champions Festival meeting at The Curragh on Sept 13, four Group 1 races will be held: the Moyglare Stud Stakes (1,400m), the Flying Five Stakes (1,000m), the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes (1,400m) and the Irish St Leger (2,800m). RACING AND SPORTS