As John Gosden has alluded to on more than one occasion, the Leopardstown straight has staged a number of high-profile dramas in Irish Champions Stakes over the years, and it was once again the case in the Royal Bahrain-sponsored feature of the 2026 Irish Champions Festival.
Many hoped that the 10-furlong contest would provide a clearer picture to the division following a dramatic Juddmonte International at York, where Item edged out Almaqam from Constitution River, who had over-raced, with a below-par Ombudsman back in fourth.
The first three home renewed their rivalry at Leopardstown, with the Prix du Jockey Club and Eclipse hero Constitution River heading the betting at 11/8, Item priced at 2/1 and Almaqam a 9/2 shot.
However, none featured in the close finish, as Jessica Harrington’s 50/1 outsider Hotazhell and George Scott’s 33/1 shot Wimbledon Hawkeye were separated by a nose on the line – a slightly closer margin than the half length that separated them in the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis at Munich last time out.
Wimbledon Hawkeye was delivered late in Germany and again in Ireland, though not by design for Christophe Soumillon, who was forced to bide his time until a gap appeared in the straight, when Hotazhell lugged left from Shane Foley’s whip, badly impeding Joseph and Ana O’Brien’s 9/1 chance A Boy Named Susie, who couldn’t recover and eventually finished fifth.
Wimbledon Hawkeye, meanwhile, gave chase to eyeball Hotazhell close home and it all came down to a bob of the head on the line and a tense wait for the photo finish to be called.
Harrington’s colt prevailed by a nose, the pair rallying three-parts of a length clear of Constitution River, who had led a furlong out before fading in a similar fashion to York. York runner-up Almaqam finished another length and a quarter further back in fourth.
Overpriced
“I didn’t think he deserved to be 50/1 – he’d won a Group 1 in Germany last time and came here in good form,” Harrington reflected. “If you look up his form last year when the ground was always too quick for him, he kept on trying and he got his conditions today and he went and did it.
“Shane was very strong but the horse is very tough; he knows where the winning post is and he put his head down on the line. I really didn’t know [if he’d won].It’s fantastic to get this on the CV. He’s in the British Champions Stakes, that’s probably where he’ll go and then he’s going to go and be a stallion.”
Saturday’s win held added satisfaction for connections, as Hotazhell had endured a winless three-year-old campaign after landing a Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 as a juvenile. His German Group 1 victory in July marked a first win since October 2024 for the Silverton Hill-owned four-year-old.
“We’ve really always thought the world of him,” Harrington confirmed. “Last year was one of those years – he should have won in America and he got a bad run round in the race. Things just didn’t go right for him and even the beginning of this year, he took a while to get going.”
Following a stewards’ enquiry, Shane Foley received an 11-day suspension for careless riding.
Heartbreak
George Scott was understandably emotional in the aftermath of Wimbledon Hawkeye’s narrow defeat, on what was the four-year-old third start for the stable and Victorious Forever after a private purchase from the Gredley family and James Owen.
“He just got held up at the wrong time but he ran brilliantly; a big career best,” said the trainer, game in defeat. “Congratulations to the Harringtons; an institution here, great people. Always a pleasure to finish second to them.
“Fairly heartbreaking, but he’ll have his day, won’t he? He’s a very talented horse and I always felt he was coming to the boil. He came to me in great shape and he’s on a really good trajectory.”
On Constitution River, Aidan O’Brien remarked: “It’s only been three weeks since he had a hard race at York. He hit a wall with about a furlong to race and didn’t finish out even if he wasn’t beaten very far. We have five weeks before the Champion Stakes at Ascot and we will freshen him up for that.”