The well-handicapped The Eurphrates (7/2 favourite) and Ryan Moore took the featured Irish Cesarewitch, winning by half a length from A Piece Of Heaven (22/1), with another three-quarters of a length back to Sixandahalf (7/1).

The win completed a four-timer on the day for O’Brien, Moore and the Coolmore partners having won a Group 2 race and two maidens earlier in the day.

The Irish Cambridgeshire runner-up A Piece Of Heaven ran in the Sydnicates Racing colours for Joseph O’Brien and Luke McAteer, while the third placer Sixandahalf was ridden by Robert Whearty for Gavin Cromwell.

Group 3 Weld Park Stakes

The Group 3 Weld Park Stakes over seven furlongs went to the Aidan O’Brien-trained Heavens Gate, under Ryan Moore, the third part of their day’s four-timer.

The two-year-old daughter of Churchill was a neck winner over Fiery Lucy and Gary Carroll, from the Gavin Cromwell stable, with Barnavara a further length and a quarter third in the hands of Shane Foley for Jessica Harrington.

Group 3 Renaissance Stakes

The Group 3SBK Rennaissance Stakes was won by My Mate Alfie, a previous three-time winner over six to seven furlongs on good and good to yielding ground.

Ridden by Colin Keane, the three-year-old gelded son of Dark Angel was winning at The Curragh for the second time, having won the Listed Jebel Ali Racecourse & Stables Dash last June.

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Carrying the colours of MacLennan, Shanahan, Magnier and Smith, the two-year-old son of Wootton Bassett battled with race favourite Antelope Canyon (5/4 favourite) and Wayne Lordan inside the final furlong of the race, with the former getting the upper hand by a head.

Despite a stewards’ inquiry being called, the result remained unchanged.

Joseph O’Brien also provided the third and fourth place finishers with Celtic Motif (16/1) and Valencia (9/1) respectively.

Celtic Motif, in the hands of Mikey Sheehy, was three lengths behind the runner-up, but had a length and a half in hand on his stable companion, Valencia and Chris Hayes.

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The Ralph Beckett-handled horse was a most impressive seven-length winner as he led home a 1-2 for the visitors.

The two-year-old son of Coulsty stayed on the stand side rail, and comfortably beat Mollie Foster (5/1) and Saffie Osborne – the runner-up trained by Ed Walker.

Jack Davison’s Lightning Bear (4/1) was best of the Irish, with Sunglow (12/1) from the Paddy Twomey stable next home, under Billy Lee.

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The win completes a perfect season for the son of Gailleo who has achieved wins in his five races in 2024.

Trained at Ballydoyle by Aidan O’Brien and owned by a partnership of Moyglare Stud and Coolmore Stud, the six-year-old was regaining the title he won two years ago.

Favourite upstaged in Moyglare Stakes

Race favourite Bedtime Story (4/5 favourite) was upstaged by her stable companion Lake Victoria (11/2) in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes.

The seven-furlong race for fillies saw Lake Victoria and Wayne Lordan come late and wide down the home straight to claim victory, winning eventually by a length and a quarter at the line.

The Ollie Sangster-trained British challenger Simmering (17/2) finished second, with Exactly (20/1) a short-head further back. There was another head back to Red Letter with Bedtime Story being run our of it, finishing last of the five runners.

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The Joseph O’Brien-trained 12/1 chance claimed the scalp of the 4/5 favourite Henri Matisse, trained by the winning handler’s father, Aidan.

Scorthy Champ, ridden by Donegal jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle, had three-quarters of a length in hand on runner-up Henri Matisse, under Ryan Moore, with British raider Seagulls Eleven (7/1) the same distance further back with Oisín Murphy in third.

First winner in Ireland for Hollie Doyle

Bradsell gave jockey Hollie Doyle her first winner in Ireland this afternoon in the Group 1 Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes.

Trained by Archie Watson in England, the four-year-old son of Tasleet led home a British-trained clean sweep with the visitors claiming the first six places.

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Marquand had earlier won the Group 1 Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes aboard Porta Fortuna for Donnacha O’Brien, but this time he teamed up with British-based trainer William Haggas to claim the €1.25 million race.

The son of Night of Thunder held off last winner’s Auguste Rodin and Ryan Moore as the Aidan O’Brien-trained runner failed by a neck at the line to win a seventh Group 1 race.

The Japanese runner, Shin Emperor, was third a further three-quarters of a length behind the runner-up.

Economics becomes the first British-trained winner of the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes since Oisín Murphy guided Roaring Lion to victory for John Gosden in 2018.

Interestingly, this afternoon was Economics’ Group 1 debut and he becomes the first horse since Pentire in 1995 to break their Group 1 maiden in the Irish Champion Stakes.

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One of the two Group 1 contests on day one of the 2024 Irish Champions Festival, it was a fourth success at the highest level for the daughter of Caravaggio.

Trained by Donnacha O’Brien, the three-year-old had finished runner-up in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket in May before claiming Group 1 wins in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket.

She becomes only the third favourite to win the race in the last 11 years, the previous two were Legatissimo in 2015 and Tahiyra last year.

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Ulster Head Coach Richie Murphy has announced his team to take on Exeter Chiefs in a pre-season fixture at Sandy Park tomorrow, with kick-off scheduled for 5 PM. The province heads into the match with momentum, following a 26-19 victory over Benetton at Kingspan Stadium last weekend.

Second-rower Alan O’Connor will captain the side, partnering Kieran Treadwell in the engine room. The front row sees Andrew Warwick return at loosehead prop, with James McCormick at hooker and trialist Corrie Barrett getting his chance at tighthead prop.

The Rea brothers, Matty and Marcus, start at blindside and openside flanker, respectively, while promising development talent James McNabney completes the back row at No. 8.

In the half-back pairing, Nathan Doak continues at scrum-half, teaming up with Kiwi Aidan Morgan at fly-half. Morgan made his Ulster debut last week and will be looking to build on his performance.

The centre combination sees Ben Carson starting at inside centre, alongside Jude Postlethwaite at outside centre, fresh off a try-scoring performance against Benetton. The duo is familiar with success, having been key members of Ireland’s U20 Grand Slam-winning squad under Murphy in 2022.

On the wings, trialist Zac Ward earns his first start on the left after coming off the bench last week, while Aaron Sexton retains his spot on the right wing. Ethan McIlroy completes the back three at full-back.

Murphy has named a strong 14-man bench, opting for an 8:6 forward-to-back split. The replacements include John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Scott Wilson, Henry Walker, Harry Sheridan, Reuben Crothers, David McCann, and Nick Timoney for the forwards. In the backs, Dave Shanahan, James Humphreys, Mike Lowry, Stewart Moore, and newcomer Werner Kok will provide cover, along with Ben Moxham, who continues his recovery from a long-term injury.

This fixture will provide Ulster with another crucial test as they prepare for the upcoming season, and fans can follow live match coverage on Ulster Rugby’s official channels.

**Ulster Starting XV vs Exeter Chiefs (Saturday, September 14, 5 PM, Sandy Park)**
(15-9): Ethan McIlroy, Zac Ward*, Jude Postlethwaite, Ben Carson, Aaron Sexton, Aidan Morgan, Nathan Doak
(1-8): Andrew Warwick, James McCormick, Corrie Barrett*, Alan O’Connor (C), Kieran Treadwell, Matty Rea, Marcus Rea, James McNabney

**Replacements**:
John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan, Scott Wilson, Henry Walker, Harry Sheridan, Reuben Crothers, David McCann, Nick Timoney, Dave Shanahan, James Humphreys, Mike Lowry, Stewart Moore, Werner Kok, Ben Moxham

_*Trialist with Ulster Rugby’s Senior Men’s squad_*

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Connacht finished their final pre-season game on a high, securing a 28-21 victory over Glasgow Warriors. The Westerners started strongly, with Dylan Tierney-Martin crashing over from a well-executed maul to take the early lead. Cathal Forde added the extras to make it 7-0.

Glasgow responded with a try from Tom Jordan, leveling the score at 7-7, but Connacht struck back swiftly. A second maul try, credited to David O’Connor, put them ahead once more. Forde’s consistent kicking made it 14-7 before Shane Jennings crossed the line just before half-time for a 21-14 lead.

Connacht’s intensity carried into the second half, with Shayne Bolton adding a try, extending the lead to 28-14. Despite a late surge from Glasgow, who scored through Gregor Brown, Connacht held firm for a deserved win. A strong finish to pre-season with plenty of positives to take into the competitive campaign ahead!

Connacht play Bristol next week in closed doors match.

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But in Irish National Hunt racing, one thing has remained constant: the complete dominance of Willie Mullins as the premier trainer over obstacles.

The 2024/25 season is underway, with Mullins eyeing a 17th consecutive Champion Trainer title – first won in 2007.

However, it’s his friendly rival – Gordon Elliott – that is setting the pace at the head of the standings…

Long Way to Go

There’s so much racing still to come in the National Hunt season, which rolls through until next April.

But Elliott will be hoping to use his early-campaign form as a springboard for success in the sport’s major festivals. The Cheltenham ante-post betting odds give him a strong chance, too: Teahupoo (9/4) and Irish Point (12/1) are expected to go well in the Stayers’ Hurdle, while Gerri Colombe (12/1) may be a contender in the Gold Cup after finishing second in the 2024 renewal.

The Cheltenham Festival results from last year also confirm Elliott’s wins with Stellar Story and Better Days Ahead, while hardy veterans Delta Work and Galvin will be expected to go well in the Cross Country Chase after its absence from the 2024 edition of the meeting due to a waterlogged track.

Talk about leaving it late

Stellar Story denies The Jukebox Man to win the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle#ITVRacing | #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/hHY99G0dzn

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 15, 2024

In addition to Gerri Colombe, Elliott also saddled four other runners-up at the March festival and five third-place finishers, so there’s plenty of strength in depth at his Cullentra yard.

And he will need all of those horses to come to the fore in 2024/25 if he is to wrestle the Champion Trainer trophy from the mantelpiece of Mullins, where it has sat gathering dust since 2007.

It’s testament to both his ability as a trainer and also his gift for attracting the best horses from the leading owners and breeders, so the rest of the Irish training community will need Mullins to have an off-year if they are to have any chance of upending his dominance.

For Elliott, at least he has started the 2024/25 season in fine fashion…

Fast Out of the Gate

The meat of the National Hunt campaign is still yet to get underway, but Elliott already has more than €800,000 (£685,000) in prize money to his name.

Much of that has been claimed from action at Galway, where Elliott has enjoyed a stellar time of things in July and into August.

The Wallpark landed a valuable handicap hurdle on August 3 at the venue, staying on well in a race ran at an electric pace – five of the 18-strong field being pulled up.
A day earlier, veteran chaser Battleoverdoyen rolled back the years, defying a four-year age gap to Moonovercloon to head off Matthew Smith’s horse by a nose – clinching a handsome £40,000 payday for his connections at the age of eleven.

Incredible scenes! Eleven years young, one of our favourite old boys Battleoverdoyen somehow gets his head home in front from Moonovercloon in the @GuinnessIreland Galway Blazers Chase at @Galway_Races under Danny Gilligan pic.twitter.com/UcgsgZ4Up9

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 2, 2024

Prior to that, in the Grade 3 Galway Plate on July 31, Duffle Coat made a mockery of his 25/1 odds to run a fantastic race – beating the well-fancied Perceval Legallois and former Cheltenham Festival contender Zanahiyr, but finishing in second place behind Pinkerton.

It’s been an excellent start to the campaign for Elliott; can he carry that form through the rest of the season?

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