Racing: IRISH CHAMPION STAKES FIXED ODDS BETTING PREVIEW

Aidan O'Brien looks set for a heck of a weekend, what with Scorpion poised to provide him with a third victory in the St Leger, and I reckon that nearly half-an-hour after the Leger, Oratorio will give the Tiperrary-based handler more to smile about by landing the Baileys Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, for which his price of 11-2 with Coral looks too big.Before considering any other factors, it's surely significant that Ballydoyle No 1 Kieren Fallon has opted to ride Oratorio rather than stay at Doncaster, where he's been riding all week, to partner what looks like a hook, line and sinker Leger winner in Scorpion.Indeed, both colts have similar end-of-season aims, therefore it's not as if Fallon wants to maintain his partnership with Oratorio purely with a particular objective in mind - he appears to have chosen Oratorio completely on merit, and that's good enough for me.Oratorio always looked as if a mile was too sharp when placed in races like the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes, but his stamina was stretched when he disappointed in the Derby. A mile and-a-quarter, therefore, seemed a logical distance. And so it proved, as the son of Danehill upset the Motivator applecart in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown where he came from off the pace to mow down Michael Bell's charge, winning by half-a-length, but looking good value for that winning margin, as he did not look overly extended to cross the line in front.There appear to be valid excuses for Motivator's defeat there - the drying ground and tactical nature of the race were cited as the main reasons - but truly top-class horses are able to overcome such obstructions and, as such, I don't think Motivator is all he's cracked up to be, despite being most impressive when winning Flat racings blue riband at Epsom in June.However, Oratorio's biggest problem won't be Motivator, it will be last year's winner of this Group One event, Azamour. The latter has gone from strength-to-strength since finishing fourth behind Grey Swallow at The Curragh early in the season, and has been impressive in two subsequent starts, landing the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot at York, before delivering a knock-out punch to land the King George VI Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes when tackling a mile and-a-half for the first time at Newbury in July.It's easy to see why Azamour is favourite for this race, but at odds in the region of 4-6 I believe his superiority has been overplayed. To be honest, he's been beating the same horses - such as Norse Dancer and Ace - whom are useful yardsticks, but not top-notchers. Potentially, Oratorio is a top-notcher, and could well take Azamour's scalp. Also, the fact that Azamour's regular pilot, Mick Kinane, is sidelined gives cause for concern. Don't get me wrong, Christophe Soumillon is about as good as a substitute as anyone could wish to find, but his lack of experience around Leopardstown could prove decisive, as it's one of those tracks that takes some knowing. Grey Swallow is unlikely to run unless there's sufficient rain, which looks unlikely to arrive, while the aforementioned yardsticks, Ace and Norse Dancer, will surely be playing for places at best.