Top staying horse Kyprios will be looking to win back his Irish St Leger title at the Curragh on Sunday – having tasted defeat for only the third time in his career when an odds-on loser 12 months ago.
Irish St Leger Favourite Kyprios Will Be Hard To Beat In 2024
This time last year horse racing fans were seeing the Aidan O’Brien-trained Kyprios back on the track after a 344-day absence with injury.
He returned in the 2023 Irish St Leger, a race he won in 2022 and was sent off as the 4/6 strong favourite.
However, his time away from the track saw the prolific stayer in need of this first run back and ended up losing out by 3 1/2 lengths to another St Leger winner – Eldar Eldarov, who had won the British version in 2022 (watch below).
Since that defeat though Kyprios has returned this season in the form of his life – winning four times – including taking a second Ascot Gold Cup in June.
He was also last seen mopping up the Goodwood Cup by an impressive 4 lengths (watch below) and so it’s no shock to see the best horse racing betting sites in the UK having him as the big favourite to regain his Irish St Leger crown on Sunday 15th September at the Curragh.
Kyprios Career In Numbers
- Age: 6
Runs: 16 - Wins: 12
- Group One Wins: 6
- Career Winnings: £1,933,912
Kyprios Looks To Become The First Irish St Leger To Win Back His Crown Since Order Of St George
Having won the Irish St Leger in 2022 (watch below) and then losing out in 2023, Kyprios will now be looking to regain his title.
If he can, he’ll become the first horse to do so since Order Of St George, who won the Irish St Leger in 2015 and 2017 – plus was also trained by a certain Aidan O’Brien.
Who Is The Main Danger To Kyprios?
Jockey Oisin Murphy, who is riding in Canada on Saturday, is expected to be jetting back to Ireland on Sunday to take the ride on Giavellotto in the Irish St Leger.
This Marco Botti runner has hit a rich vein of form this season and looks the biggest threat to Kyprios winning his second Irish St Leger.
Giavellotto was a top winner of the Yorkshire Cup back in May and backed that up with a big win in the Princess Of Wales’s Stakes at the Newmarket July Festival 66 days ago (watch below).
He’s a horse that seems to go well fresh, so another two months on the sidelines will be a plus.
We could also see the Willie Mullins-trained Vauban – the winner of the Lonsdale Cup at York last time out – and also the 2023 British St Leger winner Continuous running for Aidan O’Brien.
Are There Any Big Irish St Leger Trends Against Kyprios?
In the last ten runnings of the Irish St Leger it’s been a fair race for the favourites – with four winning, but this also means 60% of market leaders since 2014 have lost.
Some might also look to the age of Kyprios as a negative as he was only 4 when he won in 2022 and is now aged 6.
Since 2013, we’ve only had one winner of the Irish St Leger aged 6 or older, which was the 7 year-old Wicklow Brave in 2016.
How Many Times Has Aidan O’Brien Won The Irish St Leger
Legendary Irish trainers Dermot Weld and Vincent O’Brien share the record for the most Irish St Leger wins – with nine each.
Aidan O’Brien is closing though – the Ballydoyle main man has six – with his first Yeats in 2007 and his most recent, the already mentioned, Kyprios, in 2022.
Irish St Leger Winners (Last 10 Years)
- Eldar Eldarov 16/5 (watch below)
- Kyprios 8/11 fav
- Sonnyboyliston 4/1
- Search For A Song 7/1
- Search For A Song 10/1
- Flag Of Honour 2/1 fav
- Order Of St George 2/5 fav
- Wicklow Brave 11/1
- Order Of St George 5/4 fav
- Brown Panather 14/1