Wootton Bassett’s Al Riffa Stakes Melbourne Cup Claims With Irish St Leger Win

Al Riffa (5h Wootton Bassett - Love On My Mind, by Galileo) claimed his third Group 1 victory with success in the Irish St Leger at the Curragh on Sunday.

The Joseph O’Brien-trained horse had landed the Group 1 National Stakes on the Curragh card in 2022 and was an emphatic winner of the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin last term as a four-year-old. Al Riffa was also second to world champion City Of Troy in last year's Group 1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

Ridden by Dylan Browne McMonagle, the five-year-old was held up and made progress from two-and-a-half furlongs out. The pair pressed for the lead a furlong out to register a clear-cut win by four lengths.

Al Riffa is the sixth individual top-flight scorer for Wootton Bassett this year, having also landed another Pattern success in the Group 2 Curragh Cup in July. He now looks set for a tilt at the Melbourne Cup in November.

O’Brien said: “We knew the horses who were guaranteed stayers were going to try and expose the stamina of those that weren’t, and the pace was really strong. Dylan was cool and confident.

“He’s been a great horse for us and he always turns up and runs his race. I’m delighted for the ownership group, Jamie [Lovett] and all his team.”

He added: “It was a gruelling race, but we’ll freshen him up and hopefully get him to the Melbourne Cup. He’s two for two now since he’s gone up in trip. He has the right attributes. He settles well, he has a turn of foot, and he stays. Hopefully we have a smooth preparation.”

Al Riffa was bred by Haras d’Etreham, Benoit Chalmel, Cofinvest and Meridian International.