2012 Irish Champion Stakes Betting Preview

Nathaniel comes into the 2012 Irish Champion Stakes just nosing ahead of the well-respected Snow Fairy in regards to the position of outright favourite. Several bookmakers have taken John Gosden's charge into a slim 5/4 price tag. With the momentum continuing to build ahead of Saturday's big race (on a day with many important races as is), punters shouldn't be shocked to see Nathaniel as odds-on by the time they enter the gate.

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He's only been raced twice this year, Nathaniel, and he enters the race on the back of a nose defeat to Danedream back in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in mid-July. He's been pointed at this one for a while and he was able to dispose of Farhh in his seasonal debut at Sandown. Neither victory has been by a dramatic margin – and this comes as a sharp contrast with a few of his wins last year when he bested Workforce by nearly 3 lengths and finished five lengths ahead of Fiorente.

All the wins count though and Danedream going on to win additional races off that one serves as an even stronger angle for punters to play. Danedream is a form horse and a slim nose loss is a positive reference.

Snow Fairy was out a few weeks ago to score on her seasonal debut and she conquered a tricky Group 1 field at Deauville with relative ease. The globetrotting sensation has had some issues getting ready for this season but looked every bit the professional mare when she conquered that race in France – not to mention her dramatic score in the Q.E II Memorial Cup at Kyoto last November.

Punters can still lock in a 3/1 price on Snow Fairy with certain bookmakers.

St Nicholas Abbey is entered for this one and we all know that he's no slouch. He finished third to Frankel last time out and was just a length and a bit back from Nathaniel and Danedream in the aforementioned King George. He was able to finish second in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic before running second at the Curragh in a Group 3 in May. He followed that up with an impressive score at Epsom in the Diamond Jubilee Coronation Cup.

St Nick's is priced at about 5/1.

Imperial Monarch is also in the mix with a 6/1 price tag across the board. The lightly-raced Aidan O'Brien-trained contender is 3/4 lifetime with the highlight being the Group 1 Juddmonte Prix De Paris back in mid-July. He'll have been freshened for nearly two months and he did break his maiden at this track – an additional reference that could prove crucial if he is to take a big step forward here.

Other notavles include Princess Highway, anywhere form 6/1 to 10/1, while Famous Name trades at 16/1 and the impressive Born to Sea can be backed at 20s.