Racing News and preview: Tycoon will bid to provide Aidan O'Brien with a first ever success in Saturday's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot.
The Sadler's Wells colt ran a fine third at 150 to 1 in the Irish Derby which was his sole start of the season to date.
"We've always thought the world of him but the spring was a bit of a disaster and we couldn't get him out," said O'Brien, who is unfazed by the prospect of ground similar to the Royal meeting. "It will probably be only missing cats eyes again."
It will be a busy Group One weekend for the O'Brien team as last year's St Leger hero Brian Boru travels for a mile and a half race in Germany on Sunday.
The Group One action won't end there either as the Ballydoyle trainer last night described the enigmatic Antonius Pius as a "possible" for the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and last year's Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Yesterday could make her first start of 2004 in the Nassau Stakes.
"She nearly died in the spring from colitis and the Nassau may come a bit quick. But she is a possible," said O'Brien, who also nominated a 10-furlong Group One in Baden-Baden on Sunday week as a target for Powerscourt.
It may be a week until the fourth day Galway festival feature, the Guinness Hurdle, but punters yesterday latched on to an unusual outsider for the big race at Ballybrit.
The Polish bred mare Tulipa is on a hot-streak of four straight victories and was yesterday backed in from 33 to 1 to 16 to 1 with Paddy Power.
"Tulipa is the one they seem to want," said a Paddy Power spokesman about the five-year-old who won her last race at Market Rasen for her trainer Tom George just five days ago. She has also won twice at Perth and at Worcester.
The Christy Roche-trained Puck Out continues to head the various ante-post markets for the hurdle at 7 to 1.
There was a cross-channel mover in the Plate market also with the ex-Roche trained Wouldn't You Agree moving from 25 to 1 into 16 to 1 yesterday.
A total of 37 horses have been left in the opening day feature at the Galway festival, the GPT Handicap, with Pat Hughes double-handed as he tries to continue his remarkable recent record in the race.
Hughes won three of the last four renewals of the GPT with Rapid Deployment last year and Gamekeeper twice before that.
This time he has left in both Treculiar and Spanish John who won over hurdles at the recent Killarney festival. The entries also include the English hopeful Cloudy Sky who was trained by Simon Earle to win at Uttoxeter in May.
Galway will be using some metropolitan starting stalls borrowed from Navan and Leopardstown throughout the festival but there will be no stalls of any description used at tomorrow night's fixture at Cork.
The controversial new Italian stalls that had to be withdrawn after a series of problems won't be ready for a return to action at Cork despite reportedly passing a series of mechanical and electrical tests last week.
A report for the Turf Club and Horse Racing Ireland on those tests has still not been completed and with the New Zealand stalls in operation at Fairyhouse tomorrow there will be no set available for the southern fixture.
Limerick is this evening's venue where the Sadler's Wells filly Showbiz can go one better than her Roscommon debut behind the Stakes placed La Maitresse in the fillies maiden.
Bocaccio landed a gamble at Leopardstown eight days ago and may be able to defy a 12lb hike in the ratings in the mile handicap while Culmore Lady looks the one in the handicap hurdle.
