Aidan O'Brien will bid to land his second Classic success of the season when he saddles nine runners in the two Irish Guineas races at the Curragh this weekend. The maestro of Ballydoyle, who had not trained a Classic winner since the success of Saffron Walden in the 1999 Irish 2000 Guineas, sent out Rose Gypsy to win the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) at Longchamp a fortnight ago.
A field of 12 lines up today for the Entenmann's Irish 2000 Guineas. As expected, O'Brien withdrew Beckett from the £225,000 prize and last year's National Stakes winner was the only defector at the final declaration stage. The champion Irish trainer is still responsible for a third of the runners with his quartet headed by Minardi.
The Sagitta 2000 Guineas fourth is the mount of stable jockey Michael Kinane, who has won the Irish equivalent twice, on Dara Monarch (in 1982) and Flash of Steel (1986). Tamburlaine, who finished a neck and three lengths ahead of Minardi when runner-up to Golan at Newmarket, will bid to give Marlborough trainer Richard Hannon his third win in the race after Don't Forget Me (1987) and Tirol (1990). His jockey Richard Hughes reports: “He is absolutely flying - I need a bit of luck in running but I think he will nearly win."
The other two British-trained runners are the Barry Hills-trained Amicable, who is taking a big step up in class after winning a Chester handicap, and Mugharreb from the Ben Hanbury stable.
Alongside the four runners he runs in the colts' Classic, O'Brien has declared another quintet for Sunday's Entenmann's Irish 1,000 Guineas. Kinane will ride Toroca, who finished third to Ameerat in the Sagitta 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, with Jamie Spencer on Sequoyah.
O'Brien said: “Toroca has done well since Newmarket but Sequoyah has taken time to come to hand this year.” The team is completed by Imagine (Seamus Heffernan), Love Me True (Paul Scallan) and Bonheur (Colm O'Donoghue). (PA)
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
