Three Performances Of The Weekend - 14/09/20

There is no other place to start than with Magical on Saturday at Leopardstown dethroning the unbeaten Ghaiyyath in the Irish Champion Stakes.

The five year old managed to reverse the form with the Godolphin owned runner after getting spanked at York in the Juddmonte International.

The mare was ridden more forward at Leopardstown, not letting Ghaiyyath get an easy lead in front and when it came to the point of pushing the button for home it left them both neck and neck for two furlongs.

It was a superb spectacle to see two world class middle distance horses battling it out and in the final stages Magical stayed on the better of the two

One of the stories of the weekend again came on the Saturday with trainer Johnny Murtagh landing his first Group One winner with Champers Elysees in the Matron Stakes.

At the start of the season the three year old was only rated 86 and had no aspirations of becoming a Group One winning horse but the training job that Murtagh has done with his filly has been amazing.

This term she has raced four times and she landed the four timer on Saturday when coming over the top of Irish 2000 Guineas winner Peaceful in the final stages.

She is a filly to be feared going forward showing her progress nature and it would not be a surprise to see her add more black type glory to her roster.

The final big performance of the weekend came in the St Leger at Doncaster with the Irish raider Galileo Chrome staying on best in the final stages to land the contest.

The Joseph O'Brien trained three year old was declared on the Thursday as a shock runner, being smashed in the market from 20/1 to 6/1.

The son of Derby winner Australia has now won four of his five outings but this was his first Group One win and he showed that staying distances are his forte.

Another bit of history was made in the race when Galileo Chrome crossed the line first, making his trainer the first person to win the race as a handler and a jockey.