Held up early at the back of the field, 5-year-old Al Riffa rallied to the lead in the final furlong and ran on to win Sunday in the Group 1, US$586,725 Irish St Leger Stakes going 1 3/4 miles on yielding turf at the Curragh.
It was the second straight win for the entire son of Wootton Bassett who is trained by Joseph O’Brien for owner Australian Bloodstock No. 2. The Curragh Cup (G2) on July 19 covered the same course and distance as Sunday’s feature.
Dylan McMonagle had Al Riffa traveling eighth as the open-company field of nine passed the three-eighths pole. He asked for more at that point, and the France-bred veteran of 15 races caught Amiloc (5-2), who Rossa Ryan took to the lead for trainer Ralph Beckett with a quarter-mile to go.
Al Riffa ran away from there to a four-length triumph at a final time of 2:59.87 without a run-up. Amiloc finished second. Forward-running Al Qareem (13-1), trained by Karl Burke, settled for third under Clifford Lee. Waldadler (63-1), the longest shot on the board, took fourth. Illinois (7-5), trainer Aidan O’Brien’s betting favorite, struggled with the softer ground and finished a weakening seventh.
Out of Galileo mare Love On My Mind, Al Riffa earned his third Group 1 victory. He took the Vincent O’Brien National sprint on St. Leger day three years ago at the Curragh. He added the 2024 Grosser Preis von Berlin going 1 1/2 miles last year.
