Authority Figure

With six of the last seven renewals of Leopardstown's G3 Willis Towers Watson Champions Juvenile S., or the “Golden Fleece” as it was registered, going the way of Aidan O'Brien, there is no other place to start an analysis of Saturday's race than with his trio of promising colts. Ryan Moore is on 'TDN Rising Star' Delano Roosevelt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who beat the subsequent G2 Futurity S. runner-up Coat of Arms (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and dual winner Warm the Voice (Ire) (Vocalised) in the manner of a colt destined for a grand stage in a course-and-distance maiden on debut on July 27. “He's a lovely horse, he'll stay very well and is probably a middle-distance horse for next year,” the Ballydoyle trainer said. “He's probably a little bit of a baby still and he will improve a good bit more for the run, but it's at a great track, one he's won on, and we'll learn a good bit more about him and he'll learn more about racing. He's out of a very good mare and by Galileo, so he's an exciting horse. Win, lose or draw, the run will do him good for the rest of the year and next year.”

There is very little on form between Delano Roosevelt and stablemates Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who won impressively over an extended mile at Killarney on Aug. 23, and the other Aug. 17 course-and-distance maiden scorer Nelson (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). The latter two were previously behind His Highness The Aga Khan's Riyazan (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) when the homebred was the authoritative winner of a seven-furlong Curragh maiden on his racecourse bow on Aug. 7 and judging by his odds of 25-1 on that occasion he is certain to have more to offer. Riyazan's trainer Mick Halford commented “He won like a smart horse and it's not like one of ours to pick up and quicken like that first time out. He lugged across the track a bit, but it was only through greenness. He's had a trouble-free run since.”

Jim Bolger saddles the form standard-bearer in his homebred Theobald (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who was the 1 3/4-length runner-up to Ballydoyle's 'TDN Rising Star' The Pentagon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G3 Tyros S. over seven furlongs here on July 27.