FROM an early stage of the season, expectation began to build for the inaugural Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown and the Curragh in September. The organisers and racing authorities had showen great initiative in seizing a much sought after slot in the international racing calendar for such an event, but having the slot was no guarantee that it would work. Some cynical voices had expressed fears that the public would not turn out for it and that it would not attract interest from international runners, turning it into a Ballydoyle benefit. Thankfully for Irish racing, those fears very much proved unfounded.

Over 24,000 people turned out over the two days, creating a genuine atmosphere of excitement and occasion. The action on the track more than warranted the crowd that turned out to see it, with the racing at Leopardstown in particular producing results that are still being talked about.

The main event of the day was the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes and it produced a highly dramatic finish, with the 30/100 favourite Australia being agonisingly denied by the late burst of the Kevin Ryan-trained The Grey Gatsby under an excellent Ryan Moore ride. Debate raged long after the race regarding the merit of Joseph O’Brien’s ride on the favourite but that should take nothing away from a high-class performance from the winner.

For visual impression, no winner over the two-day meeting could rival the impact that the Dermot Weld-trained Free Eagle made in the KPMG Enterprise Stakes, with the three-year-old powering away for a seven-length victory under Pat Smullen. He returns to training as a four-year-old in 2015 and rates as one of the most exciting prospects in Europe.

With a preview of the classics of 2015, the Aidan O’Brien-trained John F Kennedy created a very good impression in winning the John Deere Juvenile Turf Stakes under Joseph O’Brien, looking every inch a future Derby contender.

However, what was almost certainly the most popular Group 1 result of the season came in the Matron Stakes, with Fiesolana recording a last-gasp half-length success to give Willie McCreery and Billy Lee their first Group 1 victories. It was a fair reward for them, as they had both had excellent seasons.

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Over at the Curragh on the second day of the Irish Champions Weekend, the featured Palmerstown House Estate Irish St Leger produced a result that had the PR people purring, with the Michael Owen-owned Brown Panther running out the surprise 14/1 winner for Tom Dascombe under an enterprising Richard Kingscote ride. Owen was on hand to celebrate his winner and the pictures of it went around the world.

The other two Group 1 races on the card were for two-year-olds and it was the Roger Varian-trained, Andrea Atzeni-ridden Cursory Glance who emerged on top in what has already worked out to be an excellent renewal of the Moyglare Stud Stakes. In the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes it was the Aidan O’Brien banned Gleneagles that took the spoils under Joseph O’Brien, with the son of Galileo shaping like a future 2000 Guineas contender.

An international challenge is what makes meetings such as Irish Champions Weekend truly relevant in the world of racing and with British raiders having come away with eight of the 16 races, including three of the five Group 1 races, one can only expect that they will come back in even bigger numbers in 2015.

The meeting was almost universally praised as an excellent start for the initiative, one which could develop into a very popular feature in the international racing calendar in the future.