2023 Irish St Leger Tips

All eyes will be on The Curragh this Sunday to witness the Irish St Leger taking place, with Emily Dickinson running for trainer Aidan O’Brien and she could benefit from carrying less weight when it comes to this contest. The four-year-old ran well in the Goodwood Cup Stakes over two miles but finished second to Quickthorn on that occasion.

Previously to this was a victory in the Comer Group International Curragh Cup where the 6/4 favourite was able to oblige by three lengths. Ryan Moore was able to give her a tremendous spin on that occasion, with the filly having also acquitted herself really well when finishing fourth in the Ascot Gold Cup.

However, the horse which has attracted particular interest is Kyprios and there was a spate of victories last year which could mark the horse out for more glory. The big question mark is whether the runner can return from such a lengthy absence to perform well, with the O’Brien-trained charge not seen since triumphing in the Qatar Prix du Cadran over two miles and four furlongs.

Hamish has scored a consecutive hat-trick of wins since obliging at Chester in May, with the horse winning the Ormonde Stakes over one mile, five and a half furlongs. That came after a facile victory in the John Smith’s Silver Cup Stakes when obliging over a similar distance, with the horse last seen winning the King’s Plate Glorious Stakes at Goodwood.

When it comes to Irish horse racing, none come any bigger than the St Leger. The Irish St Leger is usually available when it comes to antepost horse racing odds, with the leading British and Irish trainers bidding to saddle a winner for this prestigious race which is run at The Curragh Racecourse on an annual basis.

The Irish St Leger is a historic race and was first run in 2015, with this taking place over a distance of one mile and six furlongs. It’s a fairly long race by flat racing standards and it differs from the English St Leger by virtue of the fact that it’s not just open for three year olds.

At the beginning, the Irish St Leger racecard only included three-year-olds, with Royal Lancer having been the first horse to win the English and Irish race in the same year. Like the English counterpart, the Irish St Leger forms part of the Triple Crown along with the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the Irish Derby.

There have only been two horses that have won the Irish Triple Crown when Museum prospered in 1935, with Windsor Slipper landing the spoils in 1942 and this became an open-age race in 1983 in order to attracting a strong calibre of horses.

Since the Irish Derby racecard was opened to older horses, it has led to several repeat wins and Vinnie Roe has been able to oblige in four consecutive years between 2001-2004. We have occasionally seen Irish Derby runners and winners claim the spoils in the Melbourne Cup too.

Betting on the Irish Derby is really popular, with Search For A Song having obliged in 2019 and 2020 for the army of punters that backed the Dermot Weld-trained runner. Weld holds the record for the most winners saddled by virtue of having trained Vinnie Roe to four consecutive winners.