![](https://myracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/RP_ID00435588-scaled-e1675611330494.jpg)
We are nearly set for what should be a thrilling weekend of flat action as the Irish Champions Festival will get underway on Saturday, September the 8th. The two day event will be hosted by two tracks, Leopardstown and the Curragh, and we will have no shortage of top class action to look forward to. Adrian Wall has gone through the festival feature, the Irish Champion Stakes, and has picked out what horse he feels will win the race. Let’s take a look at it now.
I really do feel that this race revolves around the fitness and wellbeing of one horse, and that is the Aidan O’Brien runner, Auguste Rodin. If he has him back to form (again), he will win this race in my view. Yes, he comes with obvious risks attached, beaten 22 lengths in the 2000 Guineas and beaten 126 lengths when last seen tailing off at Royal Ascot.
However, this enigma of a horse is special when he is on a going day, and he proved that when slicing through the field to catch the runaway King Of Steel up the home straight at Epsom in The Derby. He wasn’t that impressive when winning the Irish Derby on his next start, but he didn’t need to be.
The one thing to keep in mind is how highly O’Brien has always thought of this horse. He might have a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup later in the year but I genuinely think if he can bounce back and get back to the horse he was in the Derby, then he is a crazy price at the moment.
If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.