Tattersalls to sponsor Champion Stakes
The Group One race, to be known as the Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes will be run at Leopardstown on Saturday 8th September, with a total prize fund of €1,000,000.
* Dual 1000 Guineas winner Finsceal Beo is set to miss her intended engagement in Sunday’s Prix d’Astarte at Deauville due to the likelihood of soft ground.
Jim Bolger’s charge, who finished eighth on her last outing in the Coronation Stakes, is now likely to wait for the Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron Stakes at Leopardstown on Champion Stakes day.
“She’s not going to France, because we’re not sure of getting good ground and we’re not going to risk running her on soft,” Bolger told www.racingpost.co.uk.
“We will wait until the weather settles before making plans for her, but she is in the Matron Stakes at Leopardstown and that is one race we will consider.”
* Michael Bell’s Lockinge Stakes winner Red Evie will bid for back-to-back victories in the Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron Stakes at Leopardstown on September 8.
The four-year-old filly looked better than when winning the Newbury Group One but she has turned in two below-par efforts in her two subsequent outings.
However, Bell believes that may be down to the ground and is keen to get her back on a surface with plenty of give.
“I think the problem in her last two races has been the ground, it was pretty quick for both races – she likes cut like a lot of Intikhab’s,” Bell said.
* The Horseracing Regulatory Authority in Britain has announced it will be raising the penalties for those found guilty of passing information for reward.
From July 26, the entry point for a breach of rule 243 by a jockey, trainer, owner or agent will be 18 months disqualification with a range of nine months to five years.
Currently, the penalty has ranged from six months suspension or disqualification with a range of three months to three years.
