GERMAN Derby winner Fantastic Moon has emerged as a surprise contender for the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September.

The colt, who was impressive in his Hamburg triumph just three weeks ago, is due to be added to the Leopardstown race next week at a cost of €22,500.

Leopardstown CEO Tim Husbands said: “We anticipate Fantastic Moon will indeed be added to the race next week. The horse runs in Munich at the end of the month and we hope that he’ll run well to confirm his status.”

While the race is seven weeks away, Husbands is confident it will again attract a top-class line-up. “We’ll have a better idea at next week’s entry stage but we anticipate that there should be at least a couple of French raiders again, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Onesto and Vadeni back again for another shot.”

Vadeni is trained by Jean-Claude Rouget who also has this year’s unbeaten Prix du Jockey Club winner Ace Impact. Connections have also mentioned Leopardstown as an option for that colt.

Husbands added: “I can’t see any Japanese horses lining up this year, and British tracks are finding exactly the same.

“Everyone else is keeping their cards very close to their chests waiting to see how their charges perform elsewhere in the interim period.

“Regarding Ballydoyle, it’s too early to say how plans for Paddington, Auguste Rodin or Luxembourg will play out, and not much is being given away by the top British trainers at the moment, but our agents are working hard to persuade trainers to take up the challenge and I am optimistic we will have confirmations from the UK when the final line-up is revealed.”