THREE Group 1 juvenile contests were part of the Irish Champions Festival 2026, and all were won in grand fashion. Sun Goddess took the Moyglare Stud Stakes by six and a half lengths, Folsom Blues won the National Stakes by six, while Darkness Falls won the newly-upgraded Golden Fleece Stakes by a more modest four and a quarter lengths.

I am saying this tongue in cheek of course, as Darkness Falls is already the 2027 Derby favourite with many bookies, and the manner of his victory, just two weeks after running out a seven-length winner of a Curragh maiden, was visually so impressive, and the step up to nine furlongs was no issue. Aidan O’Brien won this race three times in the previous four years, with Auguste Rodin, Diego Velazquez and Benvenuto Cellini.

Darkness Falls is the second top-table winner for No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) as a broodmare sire, following the sprint star Big Mojo (Mohaather). He is also the damsire of Quest For Stars (Sea The Stars), Godolphin’s previously unbeaten juvenile who finished seven lengths behind Darkness Falls at Leopardstown. The dam of Darkness Falls is You’resobeautiful, and she looked a smart filly in the making when winning a five-furlong maiden at Navan on her second start, and finishing second in a listed race at Naas next time up.

You’resobeautiful was trained by Fozzy Stack for Linda Shanahan and Sue Magnier, but she didn’t trouble the judge when stepped up in class. She was bred by Linda and Paul Shanahan, as Lynch Bages Ltd, and they have bred her two winners, the other being two-year-old, six-furlong Chester maiden scorer The Flying Seagull (Kodiac). They are their dam’s first two foals, and cleverly are followed by two colts, a yearling and foal, who are full-brothers to Darkness Falls.

Christmas Day

Camelot (Montjeu), a Group 1 winner at two and a triple classic winner at three, had his fee slightly reduced this year, from €75,000 to €60,000. His response has been to sire the Group 1 Derby winner Christmas Day, Darkness Falls – his fifth Group 1 juvenile winner – the Group 1 Irish Derby placed Pierre Bonnard, Group 2 Lancashire Oaks winner Tattycoram, Group 3 winner Isaac Newton, the weekend’s Group 1 St Leger third Amelia Earhart, and more.

You’resobeautiful is a daughter of the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Hula Angel (Woodman), and there is plenty of stamina in the family. Through her unraced Montjeu (Sadler’s Wells) daughter Promise Me, Hula Angel is the grandam of Group 2-winning stayer Coltrane (Mastercraftsman) who was beaten less than a length by Courage Mon Ami in the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup. Ironically, the best two winners out of Hula Angel were smart National Hunt horses, Tigris River (Montjeu) who won the Galway Hurdle for Joseph O’Brien, and the ill-fated The Fist Of God (Sadler’s Wells).

THE magic of Joseph O’Brien was seen to best effect on Saturday when he provided Saffie Osborne with an historic first in the 250th running of the St Leger.

This was aboard a French-bred son of Persian King (Kingman) who was unsighted on his first three starts this year, and ran mid-division in a Naas maiden when starting at 250/1. Highwayman was unraced at two.

On his fifth start of the year, and stepped up substantially in trip, he won a maiden at Killarney. He was the outsider, at 22/1, of O’Brien’s three runners in the Listed Vinnie Roe Stakes at Leopardstown and continued his winning ways. Next stop was Doncaster last weekend, where Highwayman beat his more fancied stablemate to give O’Brien a classic 1-2, with the Derby winner Christmas Day more than 15 lengths in arrears.

Owned by John Ioannis Neocleous, who won this year’s Galway Plate with the Willie Mullins-trained King Alezander, Highwayman was bred by Thierry de la Heronniere at his Haras d’Ellon. The farm, and de la Heronniere’s family, have been associated one way or another with a number of good horses in the past. Even with such a fine record, and with the St Leger winner having a good back pedigree, the breeder was unable to sell the colt as a yearling at Arqana, when a bid of €20,000 would have got him. Neocleous bought him privately, and has reaped a windfall of some €500,000.

Persian King

Winner of the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains-French 2000 Guineas and the Group 1 Prix du Moulin and Prix d’Ispahan at four, Persian King has stood at Haras d’Etreham since going to stud in 2021. His fee has halved from an opening €30,000, and Highwayman is his first Group 1 winner. His only other offspring to place at that level is Cankoura, a Group 3 winner who placed in the Prix de Diane-French Oaks, and was runner-up in a Grade 1 in the USA.

The once-raced Salyana (Harlan’s Holiday) was bred by the Aga Khan Studs, and sold at the end of her short racing career for €32,000. She had four foals at stud, and two winners, Highwayman being the best. She comes from the family of Group 1 winners Slickly (Linamix), Siyouni (Pivotal), Siyouma (Medicean), and Siyarafina (Pivotal).

FINAL Objective’s win in the Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes, a race that has given us plenty of stallions among its winners, was somewhat controversial, as he hangs left under pressure, has been described as “a bit wayward, a bit tricky and not easy” by James Doyle, but he is also talented.

He was runner-up to another gelding in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes, Arapaho Gold, and both will hopefully be around for years to come to provide us with plenty of entertainment. While I seem to be mentioning the same stallions time and again when it comes to reviewing big race winners, here is another group winner who passed through the Mick Murphy and Sarah O’Connell school that is Longways Stables.

They gave €55,000 for Final Objective (Sioux Nation) as a yearling at Tattersalls Ireland, and sold him in the spring for £115,000 to Blandford Bloodstock at Goffs UK. He was bred by Richie Galway and Justin Carthy, and they have his Blackbeard (No Nay Never) half-brother in Book 2 of the Goffs Orby Sale on October 1st. The pedigree page at the time of publication didn’t even have First Objective as a winner.

Richie and Emma Galway’s Knockarigg Stud purchased the dam of Final Objective, Sneaky Snooze (Exceed And Excel), as a yearling for €40,000. She was sent to be trained by Emma’s mother, Jessie Harrington, and raced in a partnership comprising Richie, former HRI financial controller Margaret Davin, and the late Desmond Morris, the world-famous zoologist, writer, broadcaster and artist. The less said about her sole run at Dundalk, the better.

Six-time winner Midnight Call (Caravaggio) and Final Objective are two of their dam’s first three foals, while this spring she had a filly by Paddington (Siyouni). Sneaky Snooze was bred by Gerry Callanan at Nanallac Stud, from a family he has treasured for many years. The outstanding runner has been the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes winner Serious Attitude (Mtoto) who was also a Grade 1 winner in Canada.

It was yet another weekend of note for Coolmore’s Sioux Nation, with his daughter Sun Goddess affirming her position as the leading juvenile colt or filly with a second Group 1 win. He currently has nine blacktype juveniles, five of them winners.