Irish Champions Weekend day one tips: St Mark’s Basilica can see off Tarnawa at Leopardstown

St Mark’s Basilica and Ryan Moore win the Coral Eclipse at Sandown for trainer Aidan O’Brien. Picture: Healy Racing

The numbers might be tight, but the Irish Champion Stakes is the feature which Irish Champions Weekend deserves, and St Mark’s Basilica can complete a nap hand of Group 1 victories by winning this tremendous renewal of the race.

Aidan O’Brien’s colt was a slow burner in his juvenile season but ended the year by winning the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, in which he beat stablemate Wembley. Though the margin of victory was three parts of a length, he was comfortably on top, and that final performance was just a teaser for what was to come.