John Oxx has returned to winning form in style recently and the Curragh trainer can maintain that momentum with a cross-country double.
It is three weeks since Arch Sting finally got Oxx, the man who moulded Sea The Stars’ legendary career, off the mark for 2016 but the trainer has been making up for lost time since with three more winners, including the promising two-year-old, Sea Of Grace, at Tipperary on Saturday.
Sea The Stars is the sire of all four of Oxx's runners today, with three of them going to Dundalk but perhaps the most interesting of the quartet, Affinisea, will be at the Killarney festival. The five-year-old teams up with Katie Walsh for a qualified riders race which includes some tried-and-trusted performers like Hidden Cycline and Zafayan.
In contrast, Affinisea is very much an unknown, a five-year brother to the 2007 Irish Derby hero Soldier Of Fortune who’s only start to date yielded an impressive success at Roscommon a year ago.
Oxx famously doesn’t employ rose-tinted glasses when it comes to his horses but he was noticeably upbeat about Affinisea after that victory and the fact Oxx is persevering with an obviously fragile talent looks significant.
Newcomers
Both Aidan O'Brien and Dermot Weld introduce well-bred newcomers in Dundalk's three-year-old maiden but My Fantasea looks to set a fair form standard after two course runs behind Bravery and Long Island Sound.
Oxx applies first-time blinkers and a tongue-strap to Star Of King in the other maiden, although this could be destined for Kidd Malibu.
Over fences at Killarney the Jessica Harrington-Robbie Power combination could have a good evening.
Decent ground and two miles is pretty much ideal for Mr Fiftyone in the valuable handicap chase, while an extra step up in trip looks good for Sandymount Duke in a competitive-looking novice chase.
The prolific hurdles winner owned by Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood broke his duck over fences in impressive style at Roscommon a month ago.
O’Brien looks to have good chances in the two opening races at Killarney but his Group One focus could switch to Saint-Cloud on Thursday where the champion trainer has both Beacon Rock and Shogun among the nine entries remaining in the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris.
The €600,000 ‘Bastille Day’ highlight has been won by O’Brien in the past with Scorpion (2005) and Imperial Monarch (2012), and the Gallinule winner Beacon Rock could be his number one hope of securing a third top-flight success in just seven days.
On Saturday night Deauville landed the Belmont Derby to add to Alice Springs’ Falmouth Stakes success at Newmarket the day before.
Favourites
The Epsom Derby disappointment Cloth Of Stars looks likely to be among the favourites for Thursday’s Group One French highlight which has also seen the Irish Derby fourth, Red Verdon, supplemented into the race.
André Fabre already has won the Grand Prix de Paris on a record 13 occasions and in addition to Cloth Of Stars he has the French Derby fourth Talismanic and the lightly raced Maniaco in the race too.
“All three are likely to run. Cloth Of Stars has been fine since Epsom. Talismanic would enjoy a few showers that are forecast – after such a wet summer, we now want rain,” Fabre reported.
“Maniaco missed his prep run for this but he is a very good horse in the making. I’m looking forward to running him,” he added.
