Delegator will have to fend off a quartet of Aidan O'Brien trainees and a trio of dangerous newcomers to the classic scene if he is to confirm narrow favoritism for the $552,000 Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh on Saturday.
The runner-up behind Sea the Stars in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket three weeks ago, Delegator will also have to contend with conditons that could range anywhere from soft to heavy for the Group 1 mile.
The possibility of boglike conditions could play havoc with this weekend's Irish Guineas meeting at the Curragh. Trainer Michael Stoute said that Tartan Bearer, favorite for the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup on Sunday, would not be making the trip from England across the Irish Sea because of the ground, which was officially heavy on Wednesday.
Overdose is overdosing on his foot problems. The undefeated Hungarian sprinter, earlier knocked out of Saturday's Temple Stakes at Haydock Park, will now miss Royal Ascot next month as his foot injury has taken longer to clear up than expected. The inflammation of his left fore, caused by an ill-fitting horseshoe, spread to his right fore because he was putting more weight on that foot. Owner Zoltan Mikoczy said that Overdose is now standing on both feet. X-rays will be taken on Wednesday and it is hoped that he will be able to take a walk outside of his barn on Thursday.
Vodka gave nothing else a chance at Tokyo on Sunday with a stylish seven-length triumph in the $1.8 million, Grade 1 Victoria Mile. Second in this race last year, the reigning Japanese Horse of the Year split foes at the quarter pole and sped clear under Yutaka Take to the cheers of her many backers who had bet her down to 7-10 favoritism in the 18-runner field.
Goldikova failed to handle the soft ground and the added distance of the Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp on Sunday, finishing a lackluster seventh behind Never On Sunday. Away from the races since her scintillating victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile, she faded tamely through the stretch in the $340,000 Group 1 contest, whose 1 1/8 miles, 55 yards were simply too far for her, especially on soft ground.
Vodka gave nothing else a chance at Tokyo on Sunday with a stylish seven-length triumph in the Grade 1, $1.8 million Victoria Mile. Second in this race last year, the reigning Japanese Horse of the Year split foes at the quarter pole and sped clear under Yutaka Take to the cheers of her many backers who had bet her down to 7-10 favoritism in the 18-runner field.
Goldikova failed to handle the soft ground and the added distance of the Prix d'Ispahan at Longchmap on Sunday, finishing a lackluster seventh behind Never on Sunday. Away from the races since her scintillating victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile, Goldikova faded tamely through the stretch in the $340,000 Group 1 contest, whose 1 1/8 miles, 55 yards were simply too far for her, especially on soft ground.
Virtual got the better of Alexandros after a prolonged duel in the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on Saturday, but Alexandros was a most unlucky loser, as his rider, Frankie Dettori, had the whip knocked out of his hand a furlong from home.
When Goldikova, the sensational Breeders' Cup Mile winner, returns to the races at Longchamp on Sunday, she will not be running at her favorite distance. Instead she will be stepping up to 1 1/8 miles, 55 yards for the Prix d'Ispahan, a Group 1 contest worth $340,000 in which she will be facing some rather accomplished colts and older horses.
Vodka will attempt to get back on the winning track when she returns to Japan for the Grade 1, $1.85 million Victoria Mile at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday. The Japanese Horse of the Year, she disappointed at Nad Al Sheba this winter when she was fifth in the Jebel Hatta and seventh in the Dubai Duty Free. On Sunday she will find herself back in filly-and-mare company.
Hoping for an upset is Kawakami Princess, the winner of both the Japanese 1000 Guineas and the Japanese Oaks in 2006. Although she is winless since October of that year, she has been showing signs of life of late.