Roaring Lion and Oisin Murphy win the Juddmonte International at York

Cracking Group 1 renewals in store at Leopardstown on Saturday

Roaring Lion, already a dual Group 1 winner thisyear, heads the eight runners declared for the Group 1 QIPCO IrishChampion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday. John Gosden’sCoral-Eclipse and Juddmonte International Stakes winner hasopposition from old foe, Aidan O'Brien’s Newmarket 2,000Guineas winner Saxon Warrior with Pascal Bary’s QIPCO Prix duJockey Club winner Study Of Man also making the trip to the Dublinvenue for the opening day of Longines Irish Champions Weekend. Addeybb, trained by William Haggas, is a second British raiderwhile Aidan O'Brien is also represented by Deauville, Rhododendronand Athena. Verbal Dexterity made a promising return to action atthe Curragh last month and will carry the hopes of Jim Bolger. Alpha Centauri tops a field of seven for the Group 1 CoolmoreFastnet Rock Matron Stakes. Jessica Harrington’s filly hasbeen the star of the season and is chasing a fifth consecutiveGroup 1 win having won in great style at the Curragh, Royal Ascot,Newmarket and Deauville. The Karl Burke-trained Laurens could well emerge as the chiefthreat to Alpha Centauri. Aidan O’Brien takes her on withMagical, Clemmie and Happily while Johnny Murtagh runs LighteningQuick. A second contender for the other side of the Irish Sea isthe Mick Channon-trained Dan’s Dream. The KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes will be run as a Group 2 for thefirst time and has attracted a field of nine. KevinPrendergast’s Madhmoon created a favourable impression whenwinning on his debut at Leopardstown a month ago as did DermotWeld’s Masaff and another unbeaten contender is the GerLyons-trained Pythion. The Group 2 Clipper Logistics Boomerang Stakes has attracted 11runners including the Dermot Weld-trained Making Light which was soimpressive when recording her fifth career win at Cork lastmonth. A field of seven will go to post for the Group 3 Paddy’sRewards Club Stakes with the Ger Lyons-trained Mustajeer and JimBolger’s Stellar Mass among the opposition toBallydoyle’s Giuseppe Garibaldi and Rostropovich. The opening race of Longines Irish Champions Weekend is theBallylinch Stud Irish EBF Ingabelle Stakes, a new listed race onthe card. The Mick Channon-trained Gospel was a winner on her firststart and takes on a strong-looking home team that includes JessicaHarrington’s impressive Curragh winner Trethias. Both handicaps on the card will boast full fields of 18 runnerswith Lagostovegas, a Royal Ascot winner for Willie Mullins toppingthe weights in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF ‘Petingo’Handicap while last year’s winner Burnt Sugar and runner-upSilverkode feature among the final declarations for the IrishStallion Farms EBF ‘Sovereign Path’ Handicap. Pat Keogh, CEO of Leopardstown Racecourse, said: “We aredelighted with the declarations for all our races on Saturday. Theyare a great reflection of the status of Longines Irish ChampionsWeekend.”