Horse Racing Tips: Irish Champion Stakes preview, predictions and best bets for Leopardstown

Leopardstown’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (5:30) headlines a gripping Saturday, drawing an eclectic mix of seasoned performers and rapidly developing three-year-olds into a ten-furlong examination that punishes any lapse in balance or finishing power. Read on to find the best tips and predictions in addition to the latest betting offers for the Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday September 13 at Leopardstown (17:30).

Horse Racing betting tips: Irish Champion Stakes tips

Could Leopardstown’s long straight hand the late knuckle to a colt who thrives when the tempo bites?

• Hotazhell beat Delacroix in last season’s Futurity and has posted placed Group 1/Grade 1 efforts this term without the run of the race falling perfectly.
• Shane Foley’s recent strike-rate sits at 18% (6 wins from 33) heading into the feature.
• Leopardstown’s 1m2f emphasises rhythm and sustained finishing; Hotazhell’s 2025 runs at 1m–1m2f point to a late-lengthening profile suited to this layout.

Best Bet for Irish Champion Stakes – Leopardstown

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The cast feels purpose-built for a searching, tactical race: Delacroix arrive with dual course-and-distance trial wins underpinning a reputation rebuilt through the summer, while Anmaat bring hardened top-level credentials after runner-up efforts at the Curragh and Royal Ascot. White Birch reappear with the ability to land a telling blow if rhythm and position fall his way, and Shin Emperor return from Japan with unfinished European business following a luckless run last year.

The home challenge is broader than usual. Johnny Murtagh’s Zahrann, all upward curve and composure, has banked the King George V Cup at this venue and confirmed his mettle in the Royal Whip. Royal Champion, reinvigorated by a Group 2 strike at York, step back into the deepest water seeking confirmation at the very top. Jessica Harrington’s Hotazhell, a colt who edged Delacroix in last season’s Futurity at Doncaster, has collected robust evidence without getting his head back in front during this campaign, yet his spring and summer efforts hint that a peak is near if the race shape plays fair. With Shane Foley operating at an 18% clip in the last fortnight and a card that routinely amplifies fine margins, the 2025 edition promises clarity for autumn targets and perhaps a surprise on the day.

Best Bet for Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown 5:30: Hotazhell to win

Here at bettingtips4you we only provide a single prediction rather than many different ones, as we believe in quality and not quantity and only give out the best tip per event. This will also make it easier for readers that don’t have to worry about what selection to go for and also it is more accountable as we can easily evaluate our tips profitability as we only give out a clear best bet for event: Hotazhell to win Leopardstown 17:30.

Hotazhell appeal as a value-laden play in a race where several principals carry reputations that may already be fully costed. The three-year-old’s profile is more nuanced than the bare line “failed to make a major impact this season” suggests. The campaign opened with a strong third in the Irish 2,000 Guineas over a mile behind Field Of Gold, which reads as a perfectly creditable effort for a colt whose optimum likely sits at ten furlongs. He then returned to 1m2f at Sandown and finished fifth behind Delacroix, beaten only three and three-quarter lengths in a top-end contest that rewarded early control more than late strength. That run offered little in the way of tactical cover and still placed him within striking distance of a Ballydoyle standard-bearer. The subsequent trip to Saratoga tightened the screws further: fourth in a Grade 1 at 1m1½f, beaten just one and three-quarter lengths by World Beater, he shaped like a colt who wants an even, honest tempo and a sustained run to the line.

Leopardstown’s ten furlongs suit exactly that brief. The turning approach into a generous straight demands rhythm, balance and the ability to lengthen for more than a fleeting 200 metres. Hotazhell showed as a juvenile—when edging Delacroix at Doncaster—that he can grind under pressure and pull out a last thrust when the race becomes a test of will. Importantly, the yard have ticked along nicely in the past fortnight, while Shane Foley’s current form speaks to sharp decision-making at the business end.

With Delacroix a clear market focus, Anmaat bringing mature excellence and Shin Emperor dangerous if gaps appear, Hotazhell can stalk the core speed, slip into clear air turning for home and deploy a run that has been hinted at in all three 2025 starts. The balance of collateral lines, track suitability and rider chemistry point towards an overdue return to the winner’s circle.

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