Irish Champions Weekend: essential information for the sublime two-day festival

It's almost here. Longines Irish Champions Weekend takes place this Saturday and Sunday, with leading international performers doing battle across a host of divisions at Leopardstown and the Curragh.

First introduced in 2014, the massive two-day meeting begins with eight races at Leopardstown on Saturday, highlighted by the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes, while the Curragh stages an eight-race card on Sunday that features four top-level events.

Day one gets under way at 12.40 with the €100,000 Ballylinch Stud Irish EBF Ingabelle Stakes, while the €125,000 Irish Stallion Farms EBF 'Northfields' Handicap brings the curtain down on the weekend at 5.45 on Sunday.

What makes Irish Champions Weekend so special?

Worth €4.15 million in total this year, this is the pinnacle of the Flat season in Ireland, with champions crowned in each division, from two-year-old fillies and colts to star sprinters and stayers.

Expect the likes of Aidan O'Brien, Joseph O'Brien, Jim Bolger, Jessica Harrington, Ger Lyons and Johnny Murtagh to take centre stage among the the top trainers, while leading riders such as Colin Keane and Ryan Moore are bound to have a host of strong chances across the six Group 1 races.

Champers Elysees: provided Johnny Murtagh and Colin Keane with a memorable Group 1 win in last year's Coolmore Matron StakesCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

We could be set for an epic Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday as some of the top-rated horses in the world lock horns, most notably St Mark's Basilica, Tarnawa and Poetic Flare.

The race was deemed to be the second highest-ranked event in world horseracing by Longines last year after Magical denied Ghaiyyath in a thriller with subsequent Arc winner Sottsass back in fourth.

Can I attend and where can I watch from home?

Covid-19 restrictions are gradually relaxing in Ireland and the 4,000-strong crowd permitted to attend each day of this year's Irish Champions Weekend will be the biggest at an Irish racecourse since the first lockdown began last year.

Tickets went on sale last Friday for those who had previously expressed an interest in attending. However, a limited number of additional tickets will be made available on Monday at 11am, with details on Longines Irish Champions Weekend's social media channels.

If you aren't lucky enough to make it to either of the tracks, Racing TV will show every race live, while Irish viewers can follow plenty of the action on RTE. ITV will also show some of the highlights on both days.

What are the feature races?

This is a weekend full of high-class action and the six Group 1 races are the standout events, with the Irish Champion Stakes and Irish St Leger probably the overall highlights. The former race, won by star names such as Fantastic Light, Giant's Causeway and Sea The Stars in the not-too-distant past, is the most valuable contest of the weekend, worth €1 million.

Sunday's Comer Group International Irish St Leger boasts a rich history, won by the likes of Vintage Crop, Vinnie Roe and Yeats, and has a prize fund of €500,000.

What are the other highlights?

The Group 1 Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron Stakes is the second biggest race on day one at the Dublin track, with Aidan O'Brien reportedly considering running Classic winners Mother Earth and Empress Josephine against each other in the €300,000 event.

There should also be plenty of pointers towards next year's top three-year-old races in the Group 2 KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes, while the Group 2 Clipper Logistics Boomerang Mile – often dominated by British-trained challengers – usually throws up a quality winner.

Glass Slippers: added the Flying Five Stakes to her Abbaye win from last seasonCredit: Patrick McCann

Breeders' Cup star Glass Slippers is on course to bid for a repeat in the Group 1 Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes on Sunday at the Curragh, with the Moyglare Stud Stakes and Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes expected to unearth Classic contenders for 2022.

We saw great depth to the two juvenile events last year, producing talented performers such as St Mark's Basilica, Snowfall, Mother Earth, Mac Swiney, Master Of The Seas, Lucky Vega, Thunder Moon, Wembley, Laws Of Indices, Shale and Pretty Gorgeous.

Who should I bet on at Longines Irish Champions Weekend?

Have a look at the cards and check out our free bet offers to start with, then stay up to date with the Racing Post website, mobile app and newspaper for our expert betting advice and all the latest news in the run-up to the big weekend.

Read more on Irish Champions Weekend:

Kevin Ryan gunning for more Group 1 glory with Glass Slippers in Flying Five (Members' Club)

Twilight Payment to go for a super seventh Curragh victory in Irish St Leger

'Explosive' St Mark's Basilica on track for Tarnawa clash in Irish Champion

Colin Keane confident Tarnawa has the speed for St Mark's Basilica clash

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