RACING: Aidan O'Brien has confirmed that Yeats will have his final Epsom Derby warm-up at Leopardstown on Sunday but the Ballydoyle trainer is still coming to terms with One Cool Cat's disastrous flop in the 2,000 Guineas three days ago.
The classic favourite trailed in a distance behind the winner Haafhd and afterwards was found to have an irregular heartbeat. Despite that O'Brien hasn't ruled out a retrieval mission for the $3.1 million colt in the Boylesports Irish 2,000 Guineas in less than three weeks time.
"It shows how a big mouth can get you into trouble because this horse was burning the gallops.We have not had a horse work like him since whenever," he said yesterday.
"John Halley (Coolmore vet) was there and he heard the horse's heart going bananas for some strange reason. It was totally irregular. We've never had it before and he was perfect when we got him home.
"The one good thing I suppose is that it got back to normal so quickly. If it hadn't things could be very serious. Every kind of test will be done this week but it might just be a virus," he added.
Asked if the Curragh Guineas is a realistic comeback target for One Cool Cat, O'Brien said: "I don't know but I would love to run him. It would be a disaster if he couldn't."
Ballydoyle's other major classic hope, Yeats, is as short as 3 to 1 favourite for the Derby and will try to emulate former O'Brien trained stars like Galileo and High Chaparral in the Derrinstown Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday.
"The plan has always been to go there with Yeats and we will probably leave in a good few others as well," O'Brien said.
He also intends targeting Necklace, unplaced in the Newmarket 1,000 Guineas on Sunday, at the Irish version on May 23rd.
