Irish Champions Festival

Aidan O'Brien has trained 13 winners of the Irish Champion Stakes, the centrepiece of the Irish Champions Festival. His first came with Giant's Causeway in 2000 and his latest with Delacroix in 2025, ridden by Christophe Soumillon. His dual winner Magical (2019 and 2020) shares the record for a horse with Dylan Thomas. In 2026 his favourite Constitution River was third behind the 50-1 winner Hotazhell.

Vinnie Roe is the only horse to have won the Irish St Leger four times. Trained by the Curragh-based Dermot Weld and ridden each time by Pat Smullen, he won the Curragh Classic every year from 2001 to 2004. The fourth, in 2004, came as 7-2 joint-favourite, two and a half lengths clear of Brian Boru. Since then Order Of St George, Search For A Song and Kyprios have each won it twice, but none has managed a third victory.

Michael Kinane rode seven winners of the Irish Champion Stakes, the most by any jockey. The first came on Carroll House in 1989 and the last on Sea the Stars in 2009, the year he retired. In between he won on Cézanne (1994), Pilsudski (1997), Giant's Causeway (2000), High Chaparral (2003) and Azamour (2004). Sea the Stars won six Group 1 races under Kinane that season, including the Derby and the Arc.