Chantez on song for Leopardstown Listed strike

Chantez produced a stylish performance to give Ger Lyons and Colin Keane their third win in the Ballylinch Stud Irish EBF Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown.

The Irish champion jockey and Lyons have dominated this Listed event in recent years and this season’s candidate was sent off 6-5 favourite to follow up her easy course-and-distance success last month.

After travelling menacingly into the contest, she briefly showed her inexperience when jinking once hitting the front, but ultimately was too good and a commanding winner at the line to attract quotes of 33-1 from Betfair and Paddy Power for next year’s 1000 Guineas.

“She’s a lovely filly. I’m surprised how green she ran because in her first two starts she didn’t show any greenness,” said Lyons.

“Colin said she seen the photographers. She did everything wrong today and still won.

“If we didn’t have Babouche and Red Letter you’d be very high on this one going into next spring.

“Getting one for each race is a struggle so having three to go to war with over the winter is something to really look forward to.

“We won’t make a decision for a week or two. Coming into this it was ‘put her away till next year’, but it’s all about ground as she’s a top of the ground filly.

“There is not much of her. We’ll talk to Maurice (Regan) and talk to PJ (Colville). We’ll see how she comes out of it, but at the minute I would say next year.”

Chantez is the latest in a crack team of juvenile fillies at Lyons’ disposal this term alongside Juddmonte-owned pair Babouche and Red Letter, the latter set for action at the Curragh on Sunday.

When asked what his pecking order would be among the trio, he said: “Red Letter, potentially over a trip. Babouche is fantastic and push-button, but I’d have Red Letter all day.”

Diego Velazquez justified 10-11 favouritism to score on this card for the second year running in the Tonybet Solonaway Stakes.

Aidan O’Brien’s Frankel colt won the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes 12 months ago and proved a decisive winner of this Group Two event in the hands of Ryan Moore.

““He’s a lovely, straightforward, genuine horse,” said O’Brien.

“He has pace enough for a mile and will probably get a mile and a quarter. He’s a lovely, relaxed, uncomplicated horse.

“Christophe (Soumillon) rode him (in the French Guineas) and said ‘this horse is going to win a Group One very quick’ after it.

“Then it just went a little bit wrong on us. We went to the French Derby, and it was the wrong thing as it was too quick. Then I went up to a mile and a half at Ascot, which was the wrong thing as well.

“He’s a speed horse, he’s probably a miler that will get a mile and a quarter.”

Diego Velazquez was cut to 6-1 from 20s by Paddy Power and Betfair for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qipco British Champions Day, but O’Brien suggested he may now go globetrotting in the immediate future.

“He could go to a Breeders’ Cup Mile or the Cox Plate,” added O’Brien. “Adelaide was third in a trial in France on this weekend (10 years ago) and he won the Cox Plate.”

The final group action on a stacked card went the way of Joseph O’Brien, who claimed the Tonybet ‘We’re Here To Play’ Stakes with 3-1 favourite Trustyourinstinct.

Wearing the familiar colours of JP McManus and ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle, O’Brien’s son of Churchill made a welcome return to winning ways, having finished second to his father’s Jan Brueghel and Continuous the last twice.

“Dylan just said that on his last two runs he’s been beaten by two Leger winners. Continuous, who won last year’s Leger, beat him in the Curragh and then obviously this year’s horse,” said O’Brien.

“We weren’t sure about the mile-and-a-half trip, as his best runs had been at 10, but he really got the trip well.

“He deserves a big win and I’m delighted to have a big win this weekend for JP as well.

“We’ll enjoy the Flat with him for the rest of the season and it’s great to win a good pot here this weekend.

“He qualifies for a lot of big pots around the world as we get into the autumn, so he could potentially end up in a race internationally. We’ll enjoy today and see how he pulls up.”