RACING/News: The Curragh management could not hide their dismay yesterday when just 11 horses were left in the Entenmann's Irish 2,000 Guineas.
A remarkable eight of those 11 are trained by Aidan O'Brien and Rock Of Gibraltar was immediately made long odds-on to complete the English-Irish Guineas double.
Such numerical dominance of a classic is almost unheard of and the Curragh authorities are not pleased with the lack of opposition to Ballydoyle.
"It is very disappointing but we can do no more. There is prizemoney all the down to €4,000 for 10," said the Curragh manager Paul Hensey.
"After the Newmarket Guineas turned into such a muddling race, with the stands side at such a disadvantage, you would have thought trainers would have given their horses the benefit of the doubt.
"I was on to the likes of Gerard Butler, who had Compton Dragon at Newmarket, and Brian Meehan, who had Twilight Blues, but it is very disappointing.
"I was looking at the entries for Newmarket on Saturday and there are a number of horses in a listed race there that could have come over here," he added.
The ground on the Guineas course is "soft" and is expected to remain the same for the weekend. Rock Of Gibraltar has acted on soft ground but Aidan O'Brien said it would not be ideal.
"He goes through it because he is such a versatile horse but he is so good he must be better on better ground," said the trainer, who also plans to saddle the Tetrarch winner, Century City, as well as one or two others.
The only non-Ballydoyle horses in the race are John Oxx's Ahsanabad, Dermot Weld's Sights On Gold and the John Gosden-trained Foreign Accent, who ran seventh to Redback in the Greenham Stakes.
That was enough for Cashmans to make Rock Of Gibraltar a 1 to 4 favourite, with Paddy Power quoting only the Alex Ferguson-owned colt for the race at 2 to 5.
In contrast a total of 20 fillies have been left in Sunday's 1,000 Guineas, including three supplementary entries at a cost of €38,000 apiece.
The trio are headed by the French Guineas heroine, Zenda, as well as Wrong Key, who finished fourth at Longchamp and the Andre Fabre-trained Heat Haze, who ran fifth in that race.
Aidan O'Brien has left in seven, with Quarter Moon expected to be ridden by Mick Kinane.
However, Queen's Logic, withdrawn on the morning of the English Guineas due to injury, is as short as 7 to 4 favourite to gain compensation.
Aidan O'Brien is considering running Ballingarry in Sunday's Derby Italiano in Rome. The Sadler's Wells colt won the Group Two Prix Noailles on his first start of the season but could manage only fifth of six behind Act One in the Prix Lupin last time.
"We don't really know what happened him that day but he has been in good form since and worked well this morning. He is a possible for Italy," O'Brien said yesterday.
If Ballingarry does go to the Capannelle, the Ballydoyle team for the French Derby on Sunday week is likely to be Diaghilev and Galileo's brother, Black Sam Bellamy.
At Leopardstown this evening, the double St Leger winner, Vinnie Roe, returns to action in the Saval Beg Stakes. He is kicking off a season which could see him take in the Ascot Gold Cup and the Melbourne Cup but yesterday Dermot Weld was playing down his chance.
"He has got 10-1, which is not an attractive weight on the ground (soft). He goes on any ground but I would not be surprised if a horse with less weight wins," he said.
The quirky Holy Orders might be such an animal, and Lydia Pearce sends Wave Of Optimism from Britain, having run off a 99 mark at Kempton last time. But Vinnie Roe could still have too much for them.
