By Tom Frary
Tom Marquand had a tactical dilemma from the outside stall in Saturday's G1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, but what could have been a disaster was quickly turned around as the rider excelled in steering Isa Salman Al Khalifa's Economics (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}–La Pomme D'Amour (GB) (Peintre Celebre) to glory in the feature. Sent forward from the compromising draw to keep Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) hemmed in to his inner, the 7-4 favourite had first run on last year's winner and swooped to the front approaching the furlong pole.
Briefly headed by his chief market rival soon after, the game chestnut who had worked his way here via the educational stepping stones of the G2 Dante Stakes and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano dug in to quickly regain the advantage and assert for a thrilling neck success in this 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) was 3/4 of a length behind in third in another epic renewal of this contest.
“I am just thrilled and for Shaikh Isa and William it is just huge,” Marquand said. “I think it is one we can all walk away from pretty satisfied. He's not only a good horse, but a warrior as well and not many horses are both.”
To say this was decided soon after the stalls opened is probably an exaggeration, but where Marquand took a positive step on the eventual winner after the break Ryan Moore ended up probably further back than ideal trapped behind Shin Emperor with Economics on his outside. While last year's runner-up Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) bowled along at the head of affairs as expected, Auguste Rodin was stuck at halfway and had to surrender ground to his main rival in order to get out of the pocket.
Moore seemed confident turning for home and at the furlong pole that looked well-founded with the multiple group 1 winner surging to the front, but his dominion lasted a mere few strides as the 3-year-old continued his irresistible momentum to the line. Economics may have been the better horse on the day, but his smooth run through the race due to his ideal temperament and his rider's acumen definitely gave him the edge over Ballydoyle's crack.
Marquand gave insight into his colt's adaptability afterwards. “I changed my plan a few times to be honest–there were a couple of times I felt like I had picked up into a nice position and for whatever reason I wasn't quite happy there, so I just moved on a little bit further and he possesses that really nice trait of being able to light up and shut back down 10 strides later,” he explained. “I had moments when I was worried, but he was always felt like he was there for it and Auguste Rodin obviously showed up every bit as good as we were expecting.”
“He's a proper warrior and is very, very talented,” he added. “The big calls that were made earlier in the season that were probably so tough to do, they have been justified now. He remains so exciting and I think next year will really be his year. I'm just thrilled to be a part of him so far and hopefully for what is to come.”
Haggas had masterminded this gradual ascent to the top, refusing to be sucked into a Derby tilt earlier in the year which could have compromised the colt's development, and he was in typically humble mood in the immediate aftermath. “What a relief,” he said. “It was messy and it didn't look very nice, but he got the job done. I loved his head carriage at the end, he really put his head down. We've always planned to go for the Champion Stakes at Ascot, he's coming along nicely and as long as we don't overdo him this year, he's got a big future.”
For Shaikh Isa, the win in the race he sponsors was obviously extra special. “From my standpoint as an owner and also from our standpoint as a racing jurisdiction, it's a win-win all around–he's proven to everyone now that he's a proper horse,” he said. “He's beaten some of the best horses in the world. I've been waiting a while for a horse like him and as William said, 'we have one'. I'm just very proud and very thankful.”
Aidan O'Brien said of the runner-up, “I'm delighted and he ran a great race. The plan was to come here and then go to Japan and I would say it was a great prep for that. The winner is a good horse and Tom gave him a great ride. The plan is to go straight to Japan and have him fresh–we felt we could go to the Breeders' Cup, but that might be too close. The plan was always to come here, freshen up and then go to Japan. Everything worked perfect today other than he didn't win.”
Pedigree Notes
Economics is out of Guy Reed's La Pomme D'Amour, whose career tally featured two wins in the 12 1/2-furlong G2 Prix de Pomone. The family features one of his breakthrough performers in Warpath (GB), his Ebor-winning half-brother Dakota (Ire), and the group performer Apache (GB). La Pomme D'Amour's yearling colt by Nathaniel (Ire) was a bargain 19,000gns purchase by Midland Equine at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
WHAT A FINISH!
Economics denies Auguste Rodin in the @BahrainTurfClub Irish Champion Stakes!
A brilliant run from Japanese raider Shin Emperor in third, too 👏 #シンエンペラー | #競馬 | @netkeiba@LeopardstownRC | @TomMarquand | @WilliamHaggas pic.twitter.com/Kcjv0GWVvA
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 14, 2024
Saturday, Leopardstown, Ireland
ROYAL BAHRAIN IRISH CHAMPION STAKES-G1, €1,250,000, Leopardstown, 9-14, 3yo/up, 10fT, 2:03.20, gd.
1–ECONOMICS (GB), 129, c, 3, by Night Of Thunder (Ire)
1st Dam: La Pomme D'Amour (GB) (MGSW-Fr, $313,702), by Peintre Celebre
2nd Dam: Winnebago (GB), by Kris (GB)
3rd Dam: Siouan, by So Blessed (GB)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (42,000gns Wlg '21 TADEWE; 160,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Isa Salman Al Khalifa; B-Copgrove Hall Stud (GB); T-William Haggas; J-Tom Marquand. €725,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Eng & Fr, 5-4-0-0, $1,183,824. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Auguste Rodin (Ire), 135, c, 4, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Rhododendron (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). TDN Rising Star. O-M Tabor, D Smith, Mrs J Magnier & Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €250,000.
3–Shin Emperor (Fr), 129, c, 3, Siyouni (Fr)–Starlet's Sister (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). (€2,100,000 Ylg '22 ARAUG). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Ecurie des Monceaux (FR); T-Yoshito Yahagi. €125,000.
Margins: NK, 3/4, HD. Odds: 1.75, 2.25, 16.00.
Also Ran: Los Angeles (Ire), Ghostwriter (Ire), Luxembourg (Ire), Royal Rhyme (Ire), Hans Andersen (GB).
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