A seventh win in Sunday's Tattersalls Irish 1, 000 Guineas would see Aidan O'Brien equal the record-tally of victories in the fillies classic and Found appears set to lead a powerful Ballydoyle team into the Curragh race.
Last season’s Prix Marcel Boussac winner is one of five O’Brien-trained fillies left in after the five-day stage, the quintet also including both Kissed By Angels and Wedding Vow.
Mick Channon’s Malabar is in contention to lead a cross-channel challenge on Sunday’s classic but the main opposition to the champion trainer’s ambitions of emulating Hubert Hartigan’s seven 1,000 Guineas successes between 1928 and 1954 could yet come from home-based rivals.
Unlike O'Brien 32 Irish classics to date, Jessica Harrington has yet to win any classic but Bocca Baciata looks a frontline contender after repeated boosts to the form of her Salsabil Stakes victory at Navan last month.
The runner-up Pleascach easily won last week’s Blue Wind Stakes and Jim Bolger’s star is also among a total of 21 contenders left in the mile classic.
Devonshire
Godolphin have supplemented Devonshire into the race at a cost of €30,000 and trainer Willie McCreery said: “The owners have been very sporting. She seems in good form and the conditions won’t bother her.
“I don’t particularly think she needs soft ground ground to be seen at her best, but she seems to handle it a lot better than others. It could be very tacky by the weekend and we know she goes through it.”
Michael Halford is also chasing a first classic with Raydara, who has yet to appear this season, but the trainer said: "She is a clear-winded filly and an easy filly to get right. Her form from the Debutante Stakes looks rock solid and was well advertised in the English Guineas, so you'd be hopeful she could run a nice race. But a classic is a classic."
A total of 13 remain in Sunday’s Group Three Airlie Gallinule Stakes, a 10-furlong event intended as a trial for Giovanni Canaletto’s chances of making an impression in the Epsom Derby two weeks later.
