Round-up: Holy Roman Emperor, the ante-post favourite for next year's 2,000 Guineas, is set to tackle this weekend's Laing O'Rourke National Stakes at the Curragh where he is likely to clash with the unbeaten Futurity winner Teofilo.
Aidan O'Brien has committed the Phoenix Stakes winner to his first attempt at seven furlongs in the Group One event as long as ground conditions are suitable.
Holy Roman Emperor was a late withdrawal from last month's Prix Morny when the ground at Deauville became too heavy. It prevented the Danehill colt from attempting a Group One double within a week after his impressive defeat of Hellvelyn in the Phoenix over six furlongs at the Curragh.
Ground conditions will also have to be suitable for Teofilo who is unbeaten in three starts, adding the Futurity last time to a Tyros Stakes victory at Leopardstown. The Jim Bolger-trained horse edged out Eagle Mountain in the Futurity and that horse was also runner-up on Saturday behind Vital Equine in the Champagne Stakes at York.
Vital Equine himself is a possible traveller to the Curragh if trainer Eoghan O'Neill feels he has recovered in time. "Everything is under consideration after we see how he freshens up," O'Neill said yesterday. "The National could be a bit quick but he is tough horse and I'm sure he can recover. Other options include the Dewhurst, the Racing Post Trophy and maybe even the Grand Criterium."
This weekend's other Group One feature at the Curragh will be the Irish Field St Leger and Yeats, the 10 to 1 ante-post favourite for November's Melbourne Cup, has been confirmed a runner in the sole Irish classic that Aidan O'Brien has yet to win.
Yeats endured an unlucky passage in last year's Leger behind Collier Hill but will be a warm fancy to make up for that this time.
O'Brien sends four horses to Galway today in search of the black type available for the Listed Ardilaun House Hotel Oyster Stakes. Be My Queen has been mixing it with some top-flight fillies over a mile this season but now she is upped to a mile and a half and significantly she is Kieren Fallon's pick from the Ballydoyle quartet.
The ex-Kevin Prendergast trained Akarem is a traveller from Karl Burke's yard in England but the biggest danger to Be My Queen could be Good Surprise.
Cleni Bay wouldn't appreciate deteriorating ground conditions for his hurdling debut in the last but the Punchestown bumper winner will be hard to beat if the rain stays away.
n Breeders' Cup Turf winner Shirocco delighted connections when coming out best from a clash of the middle-distance heavyweights in the Prix Foy at Longchamp yesterday.
Andre Fabre's five-year-old beat last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero and stablemate Hurricane Run by a cosy neck, and with three wins to his credit this season, the winning team are counting down the days for a return visit to Paris on October 1st.
