Jane Mangan’s William Hill blog: Irish Champions Festival Day One Best Bets

William Hill ambassador Jane Mangan is here with her best bets on the opening day of Irish Champions Festival from Leopardstown.

Leopardstown, Saturday

The Listed Ingabelle Stakes (2:15pm) kicks off the weekend’s action, and I think it’s a fabulous race. With plenty of unknown quantities and unexposed fillies, I really like Diamond Necklace. I loved how she won at the Curragh despite looking the second string beforehand. She didn’t appear the likely winner two furlongs out but picked up powerfully to score decisively at the line. She’s extremely well-bred, related to multiple Group 1 winners, and I think she could be far better than Listed class. Hopefully, she can open proceedings in style.

The second race is a Premier Handicap over seven furlongs (2:50pm). I think One Smack Mac has a serious chance off his rating, especially with the lesser weight he carries thanks to his three-year-old allowance. He was tried in the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot last time and came up short, but that was very hot company. He’ll be far better suited dropping back into handicap company here. His run behind Copacabana Sands at Naas reads well, with that filly subsequently winning a Stakes race at the track. He may not have been seen since June, but Ger Lyons targets this meeting every year, and his record is exemplary. It’s One Smack Mac for me.

The Group 2 Champions Juvenile Stakes (3:20pm) comes next, a race won in the past by the likes of Auguste Rodin, who went on to land the Derby. I expect Montreal, a course-and-distance winner last time, to win this and become a leading ante-post contender for next year’s Epsom Classic. He’s by Sea The Stars and, after an impressive eight-length maiden victory, the signs are very promising.

The CMG Group Stakes (3:50pm) is a Group 3 over a mile and four furlongs and is another fascinating contest. Al Aasy, Sons And Lovers, and Trustyourinstinct are all very good horses, but I think Convergent might be a slightly different proposition. He ran a huge race behind Lambourn in the Chester Vase earlier in the season, having arrived under the radar after two small race wins at Redcar. He then ran very well in the German Derby at Hamburg, beaten only a short head after hitting the front too soon. If Clifford Lee delivers him a little later this time, he’ll take plenty of beating, for the same connections who enjoyed success in this race with Duke De Sessa.

The Group 1 Matron Stakes (4:25pm), over a mile for fillies and mares, has been dominated by three-year-olds in recent times. Of the last 10 renewals, nine have gone to the Classic generation, so the stats don’t favour Fallen Angel. The filly I like is Cercene. A huge improver earlier in the season, she sprang a 33/1 shock when beating Zarigana in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. She proved that was no fluke with a very good second to Whirl in the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. I think this speedier test around Leopardstown’s bend will suit her, and given her rating is just two pounds inferior to the older filly, while she receives five pounds, I think Cercene could provide the fairytale result of the weekend and cap off a memorable season for her connections.

The Group 2 Solonoway Stakes (4:55pm), over a mile, is a fascinating contest with several older horses facing younger, less-exposed types tried in Classics this year. Expanded hasn’t been seen since May. He was second in the Dewhurst and touted as a Guineas horse but ran no race at Newmarket and didn’t fare any better in the Irish equivalent. He’s been put away since, with connections seemingly waiting for rain, he was declared for several high-class races but withdrawn each time on account of quick ground. With the rain arriving, I think he can take this Group 2 prize back to Ballydoyle.

The Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes is shaping up to be a proper renewal. What I love about this race are the memories of some of the great clashes down the years, whether it was Giant’s Causeway outbattling Greek Dance, Fantastic Light getting the better of Galileo, or High Chaparral pinning Falbrav to the rail, this race has always had something magical about it. I hope we’re in for something similar this time around, with three horses travelling from overseas to take part.  My selection is Shin Emperor. He finished third in the race last year, beaten a length by Economics and Auguste Rodin. I think his rider, Ryusei Sakai, will be a little more streetwise this time, having both ridden the track and gained that experience last year.

This horse made all in Riyadh when winning the Neon Turf in February. While he was disappointing in the Sheema Classic afterwards, I think this track and trip are ideal for him. He’s an uncomplicated ride who can track the likely pace set by Mount Kilimanjaro. With Anmaat, White Birch, and Delacroix snapping at his heels, I still believe the four-year-old has the legs, the class, and the sheer raw ability to take care of the field. Aidan O’Brien has won this race 12 times, but I think this year it’s heading back to Japan.