KPMG celebrates 13 years of supporting the Irish Champions Festival. Once again it promises to be an exciting festival of world-class flat racing right here in Ireland. Some of the world’s top-rated horses went head-to-head this year in the €1,250,000 feature race, the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes.
The 2025 KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes
Congratulations to Benvenuto Cellini, who delivered a scintillating performance to claim victory in the Group 2 KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes on Saturday at Leopardstown Racecourse.
The son of Frankel, trained by the legendary Aidan O’Brien and expertly ridden by Christophe Soumillon, was sent off the 1/2 favourite and lived up to every expectation. In a tactical four-runner field, Hardy Warrior set a strong early pace, but Soumillon kept his cool, positioning Benvenuto Cellini perfectly in second. As the field swung into the straight, the atmosphere crackled with anticipation—and then came the moment.
With two furlongs to go, Soumillon asked for more, and Benvenuto Cellini responded with devastating acceleration, surging past Hardy Warrior and stretching clear to win by a commanding five lengths. It was the widest margin in the race since Australia’s triumph over a decade ago.
This emphatic win not only electrified the Leopardstown crowd—it also catapulted Benvenuto Cellini to 8/1 favouritism for next year’s Betfred Derby, slashing his odds from 25/1. O’Brien hailed him as “a lovely middle-distance horse” with a “big open stride” and the potential to shine in both English and French Derby trials
