Saint Mark's Basilica rewards Ryan Moore in Irish Champion Stakes
Mogul ridden by Ryan Moore wins the Hong Kong Vase international horse race at Shatin race course in Hong Kong on December 13, 2020.
Definitely movie worthy with all its twists, the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, threw in plenty of interference questions from Saint Mark's Basilica (Ryan Moore 5-6). The 1.2-mile was covered slowly, dotting 2:11:1/10.
This resulted from Saint Mark's Basilica running the perfect race from mid-stream, until a furlong from home. That's when he decided to drift across all rivals, scrambling away from the Aga Khan's Tarnawa (Colin Keane 9-4), by a mere 3/4 length verdict.
As there had been no contact, Moore was given a warning and one day ban for careless riding. He did nothing to prevent this situation, which means it was lucky the placings were not reversed.
Poetic Flare (Kevin Manning 4-1), ran well throughout, only failing marginally in the three-way photo. Patrick Sarsfield (Declan McDonough 33-1), led for a while, but quickly disintegrated.
Trainer Aiden O'Brien logged his tenth winner of this event, 20 years after Galileo was chinned by Fantastic Light - almost carbon copying Saint Mark's antics. Dewhurst, French Guineas, Derby crowns, and Coral Eclipse, is a Curricula Vitae to be proud of. Mother Siyouni provides his zip, and Galileo needs no introduction. It will be sad and exhilarating, when he marches off to stud, very soon.
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Hurricane Lane (William Buick 8-11), sure did add umpteen layers of class to the 2,800m Cazoo St Leger at Doncaster, never looking even slightly threatened by Mojo Star (Rossa Ryan 8-1), the Mediterranean (Wayne Lordan 28-1), or Interpretation (Hollie Doyle 8-1).
Charlie Appleby and Sheikh Mohammed are now wondering whether Hurrican Lane should accompany Adayar in Longchamp's Prix de l'Arc next month. No Leger hero has ever managed the Arc double. Let us see if that can be changed.
A 20,0000 strong bunch of spectators made their voices heard way over valleys, as Hurricane Lane from the stalls. Upon entering the enclosure, decibels were raised tenfold.
High Definition (Frankie Dettori 14-1), obviously could not cope with the distance, joining Ottoman Emperor (Ben Coen 9-1) for coffee at the back. Ryan Moore made the right decision to side with Saint Mark's in Ireland.
Actually, six of the ten runners were unable to handle 2,800m. Clocking 3:04:2/10 for Godolphin, Hurricane Lane's cool attitude puts him on an even greater par with all the Classic winners this century.
