Jockey Tom Marquand completed a quick Group 1 double on day one of the 2024 Irish Champions Festival when guiding Economics (7/4 favourite) to victory in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
Marquand had earlier won the Group 1 Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes aboard Porta Fortuna for Donnacha O’Brien, but this time he teamed up with British-based trainer William Haggis to claim the €1.25 million race.
The son of Night of Thunder held off last winner’s Auguste Rodin and Ryan Moore as the Aidan O’Brien-trained winner failed by a neck at the line to win a seventh Group 1 race.
The Japanese runner, Shin Emperor, was third a further three-quarters of a length behind the runner-up.
Economics becomes the first British-trained winner of the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes since Oisín Murphy guided Roaring Lion to victory for John Gosden in 2018.
Interestingly, this afternoon was Economics’ Group 1 debut and he becomes the first horse since Pentire in 1995 to break their Group 1 maiden in the Irish Champion Stakes.
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