IT’S eyes to the skies at Leopardstown for the next seven days.

Racecourse management are hoping the rain stays away in the run-up to next Saturday’s Qipco Irish Champion Stakes and the weather forecast is largely in their favour. If the going is good or better racegoers can expect a stellar line-up for the €1.1 million feature.

Racing manager Nessa Joyce said yesterday: “We’re slightly on the soft side of good at the moment but it’s tightening up every day and I would expect it to be on the fast side by Saturday. The forecast is for settled weather for most of next week, with a slight rise in temperature, and there is no question of us watering, so we will be heading into good to firm territory. There is uncertainty about the end of next week and there are indications of rain arriving but we are in a good position. Our aim is good to firm ground.”

This will be welcome news for connections of star three-year-olds Golden Horn and Gleneagles, both of whom have been scratched from Group 1 races this summer due to easy ground. This week trainers John Gosden and Aidan O’Brien issued upbeat bulletins on their stable stars, hinting that Leopardstown was high on their agenda.

“Given suitable ground, Gleneagles will run in the Irish Champion Stakes and, failing that, he will be aimed at the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October,” said O’Brien. “His end-of-season target is the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland where he may face American Pharoah.”

An update on Golden Horn is likely to be issued on Saturday morning after the Derby winner gallops over the Rowley Mile.

Gosden said this week: “I’’d just like to see good, or good to soft ground, that’ll be fine. Leopardstown does drain very well - it’s a good track from that point of view. He’s in good order. It looks an exciting contest and we’ve been lucky enough to win it before and been second in it. It’s a wonderful race and Leopardstown is a very, very nice racecourse.”

Dermot Weld’s Royal Ascot winner Free Eagle and last year’s Irish Champion Stakes winner The Grey Gatsby remain on course for Leopardstown and good ground would also be in their favour. French challenger Cirrus Des Aigles is a certain traveller no matter what conditions prevail and the Jim Bolger-trained filly Pleascach has shown top-class form on fast and slow ground.

Last year’s meeting attracted over 13,000 racegoers. The track is hoping to beat that number this year and a student initiative announced this week (see page A21) should help. A new Champions Bar (formerly Fillies) will open on Saturday and the members’ bar has also been refurbished.

The first four races will be run on the inner track and the final four on the outer track.