RACING:Johnny Murtagh will be in Dubai today to team up with the Curragh Leger hero Royal Diamond in a Group Three prize at the Meydan track that also contains John Oxx's high-class stayer Saddler's Rock among a three-pronged Irish attack.
Michael Halford’s Certerach completes the Irish team for the Nad Al Sheba Trophy over a mile and six furlongs on turf. But most interest will centre on Royal Diamond and how Murtagh’s mount gets on against Saddler’s Rock, a Murtagh stalwart last year despite the former champion jockey’s high-profile split with the Aga Khan during last summer.
The upshot of that is Declan McDonogh has taken over as number one rider to Oxx, leaving Murtagh to concentrate on an expanding training operation run from his own Curragh yard alongside Tommy Carmody.
It was Murtagh’s increasing involvement in the training of horses belonging to owner Andrew Tinkler that contributed to the Aga Khan firing Murtagh last summer after his colt Hartani was edged out by the Tinkler-owned Ursa Major in a Group three. “John Oxx’s (Hartani) was hot favourite and ours was 7 or 8/1. I thought he might run a place and it just happened that Ursa Major came and pipped the Aga Khan’s horse,” Murtagh said to RTÉ after breaking his silence recently.
“What made it worse that I was there with him (Ursa Major). I was just delighted that the horse won. Beating John Oxx’s (horse) wasn’t great, but I was out injured at the time and my loyalty was not broken in any way. I felt I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I got a call straight away and I was asked to speak to the (stud) manager and that was it.
“I look back on it now and I suppose I was probably naive, but I was only trying to show everybody what I could do. I felt very sad. It was a horrible moment in my career, but when I look, maybe I should have seen it coming a bit earlier.”
Byrnes takes Courage to Navan
Charles Byrnes is set to give his six-time Grade One-winning star Solwhit a vital pre-Cheltenham festival workout this morning ahead of an afternoon fixture at Navan where Courage could go close for the Co Limerick trainer.
Solwhit is a general 12/1 shot in ante-post betting for the Ladbrokes World, a race he had to miss in 2011 due to a setback. He has been plagued with problems since but has bounced back this season with a couple of promising runs. Byrnes had been considering skipping the festival and concentrating on an Aintree Hurdle attempt in April but the stayers crown could yet end up being back on the agenda for Solwhit.
Courage was beaten a long way on his Irish debut at Gowran last month but shaped promisingly for a long way. He is one of two Byrnes runners in the four-year-old maiden that kicks off this afternoon's card but both will do well to cope with Call Me Bubbles. Champagne Agent has been expensive to follow and could have to give best again in the following maiden to Mad Brian if the latter repeats his Naas effort behind Morning Assembly.
It's almost two years since Barneys Honour ran over fences but his recent hurdles form has been good and he can keep that run up in the two mile handicap chase.
