Curragh preview:Using almost every criteria possible, the surest thing about tomorrow's Group One feature at the Curragh is that the Coolmore team will almost certainly win it again, and probably most likely with the heavy favourite Henrythenavigator.
Of course Soldier Of Fortune's memorable Derby victory just over a month ago indicated yet again the folly of under-estimating the strength in depth of Aidan O'Brien's team as a whole so even his support team of Warsaw and South Dakota can't be ignored either in the Independent Waterford Wedgwood Phoenix Stakes.
But whether it is with the headline act or the support crew, the last decade has shown that the champion trainer tends to win Ireland's first Group One of the year for juveniles.
O'Brien will bid for a remarkable ninth victory in the last 10 years tomorrow and the one "blip" on that record came in 2004 with Damson, who just happened to be owned by the Coolmore powers that owned all the others!
Henrythenavigator looks to boast ideal credentials having made enough of an impression when scoring a second win in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot to make him 8 to 1 favourite for next year's 2,000 Guineas. Kieren Fallon rides him for the first time tomorrow and although he will be facing the slowest ground he has faced to date, a reasonably positive weather forecast indicates that conditions shouldn't be too bad.
Another Royal Ascot winner, the Queen Mary heroine Elletelle, looks to be the most high-profile challenger but Henrythenavigator can maintain Ballydoyle's stunning winning streak.
O'Brien and Fallon also look to have the material to score in the Group Two UAE Royal Whip Stakes where Eagle Mountain looks to have his ideal conditions.
Despite being placed in two Derbys, the suspicion remains that a mile and a quarter is Eagle Mountain's best trip and ground conditions should not be an issue either. He certainly can't have worse luck than he had on his penultimate start when a barging match in the Grand Prix de Paris resulted in him losing Fallon after just half a mile.
The English raider Championship Point has bounced back to form with handicap wins at Ascot and Goodwood but this is another level again.
The Group Two Debutante Stakes looks a really hot race as it includes highly rated potential classic prospects from all the top yards in the country.
Listen is currently rated the best of them in betting terms as she is as low as 10 to 1 for next year's 1,000 Guineas on the back of an impressive debut in Listed company here on Derby weekend.
An extra furlong to travel now should be no problem to her ahead of a tilt at the Moyglare Stud Stakes which her dam Sequoyah won in the past.
Due Respect, the Irish Cambridgeshire winner in 2004, is a stone less in the ratings for the mile-and-a-quarter handicap compared to his peak. Significantly he also showed something of a return to form on his last start at Naas and Seán Levey takes a valuable 7lb off.
