2022 Irish Champion Stakes Betting Tips, Best Bookmakers & Free Bets

The Irish Champion Stakes is one of the most prestigious flat races in Irish Racing. The race is open to three-year-olds and above, and a trip of one-and-a-quarter-miles will have to be completed.

The Irish Champion Stakes was first run at Leopardstown in 1986. It's a Group One race sponsored by QIPCO and is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, with the winner guaranteeing them a place in the Breeders' Cup Turf later in November.

Winners of the Irish Champion Stakes often go on to run in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe - Europe's most prestigious flat race. The first horse to win both races in the same season was Carroll House, who scored at Leopardstown and Longchamp under Mick Kinane in 1989.

Dylan Thomas is the only horse to win the Irish Champion Stakes twice, successfully retaining his crown in 2007. Aidan O'Brien's star also won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe later than autumn.

Three other legends of the game managed to win the Irish Champion Stakes and the Arc in the same season. Suave Dancer managed it in 1991. Sea The Stars landed the double in 2009, six years before Golden Horn won both races under Frankie Dettori.

Although the race is staged in Ireland, British trainers have enjoyed plenty of success in this Group One. Henry Cecil, Sir Michael Stoute, Ed Dunlop and Kevin Ryan have all saddled winners of the Irish Champion Stakes. 

Roger Charlton's first victory came in 2017, when five-year-old Decorated Knight defeated his Irish rivals. John Gosden then celebrated his third win the following year, as Roaring Lion defeated Saxon Warrior in stunning fashion.

Aidan O'Brien is the most successful trainer in the history of the Irish Champion Stakes. Aidan's first winner came in 2000 when Giants Causeway won. His eighth triumph came in 2020, when top-mare Magical headed a 1-2-3 for Ballydoyle.

Ghaiyyath travelled to Leopardstown as the odds-on favourite in 2020, but it was Magical who prevailed once again, retaining her crown with another superb performance. Aidan O'Brien then celebrated his ninth win as St Mark's Basilica held off Tarnawa and Poetic Flare to win a thrilling renewal of the Irish Champion Stakes.