A WEEKEND that produced its share of surprise outcomes served up a seismic shock in the last Group 1 of the domestic season as Wicklow Brave downed the 1/7 favourite Order Of St George to claim the Palmerstown House Estate Irish St Leger for Willie Mullins.

With just four runners in the line up, the stage looked set for Order Of St George to repeat his stunning triumph of 2015 when he beat Wicklow Brave by over 11 lengths into third. It was all change this year though as a dramatic change in tactics for the winner enabled him to fend off the season’s top stayer and Ascot Gold Cup hero.

Back in 2003 Frankie Dettori partnered Vintage Tipple to Irish Oaks glory for the trainer’s late father, Paddy, and he was again on board a horse who has taken a rather circuitous route to top-level flat racing. Initially a €43,000 graduate of the Derby Sale and a winner of the 2015 County Hurdle at Cheltenham, Wicklow Brave only began his flat career at Gowran in May 2015.

Since then he has developed into quite a smart sort but this represented a new high for the Wicklow Bloodstock-owned gelding who will now go in search of one of the holy grails of international racing.

The Melbourne Cup, a race in which Mullins has gone tantalisingly close in recent years, is the immediate target for the son of Beat Hollow and he went in quarantine earlier this week.

In the race itself, Dettori judged things to perfection up front and it was all starting to look quite ominous for Order Of St George when he came under strong pressure to close up early in the straight.

The favourite steadily inched closer to the leader but Wicklow Brave (11/1) was not for catching. He kept on most determinedly to bag a famous triumph by half a length. There was a further 16 lengths back to last year’s (Ascot) Gold Cup hero Trip To Paris.

“We’ve held him up in a lot of his races but when we’ve done that he hasn’t found as much as we thought he would so we decided to change tactics today,” declared Mullins.

“Before Ruby (Walsh) won on Westerner Lady down in Listowel I spoke to him about tactics. He rode him in his last bit of work and felt that we should try and make the running.

“Nothing else was that keen to make it so fortunately he got an easy lead.”

“I was really hoping that he’d finish third and cement his claims for Melbourne and that is where he will go now.

“He’s a hardy horse who will take whatever Melbourne throws at him. He’ll like the ground there and I think the race will suit him too.”

The defeat of Order Of St George also meant that the mammoth €423,000 Pick 6 pool was not won as there was just one unit riding on the red-hot favourite.