JOHN OXX is set to walk the Leopardstown track this morning to see if ground conditions will allow him run the superstar colt Sea The Stars in Saturday’s Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes.
Prolonged spells of rain yesterday softened the going at Leopardstown considerably and the prospect of more forecast rain last night appeared to throw real doubt on the chances of Sea The Stars taking his place in the €1 million highlight.
Final declarations for the race, which has been billed as a potentially epic clash between Sea The Stars and Fame And Glory, have to be made at 10am today and last evening bookmakers were offering 5 to 2 about Sea The Stars even running in the race.
“We had heavy rain here from one in the afternoon to three, then it eased a bit, before we got more. Any good that was in the ground has left and I would say it is yielding at best,” said the Leopardstown manager Tom Burke.
“A further problem is that we are forecast to get more rain later this evening. John Oxx is going to walk the track in the morning but obviously he has a big call,” Burke added.
Weather conditions are due to improve over the next three days, with sunny spells and some showers today, but the Sea The Stars camp have repeatedly stated during their colt’s four-time Group One-winning season that he must have a minimum of good ground to show his best.
On internet betting last night, Sea The Stars drifted right out to odds of 15 to 2 in the widespread belief that he will miss the race and instead be campaigned towards October’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Fame And Glory was trading as a 2 to 5 favourite.
However, Fame And Glory’s trainer Aidan O’Brien also plans to leave a final call on the shape of his challenge for Saturday’s race until just before declaration time today.
The champion trainer’s number one contender remains Fame And Glory but also among his six-strong entry for the €1 million feature is the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes winner Mastercraftsman. He offers the possibility of an intriguing second string to the Ballydoyle bow but Mastercraftsman is among 13 entries for Sunday’s Group One Prix Du Moulin at Longchamp over a mile too.
With uncertainty over ground conditions at Leopardstown, which in turn could alter the shape of the field declared today, O’Brien intends keeping his options open. “Master is a possible for the Irish Champion Stakes, the race in France, or he might not go anywhere at all this weekend,” he said yesterday. “I plan to speak to Leopardstown and wait and see what else might be running. But we will leave it late.”
O’Brien also revealed yesterday that while his Sussex Stakes winner Rip Van Winkle is still being aimed at the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot later this month he is not certain to make the mile highlight.
“It is touch and go at the moment. He is still not 100 per cent right,” he said. “He is coming along slowly and while he is not guaranteed to get there we are trying to. If he hadn’t a few issues with his feet he’d have been a complete superstar this year. But we think he is a very good horse.”
The star stayer Yeats could attempt to secure a second Irish St Leger triumph at the Curragh on Saturday week with only very testing conditions likely to alter plans.
“He handles fast ground very well. He is in good order and if he can run we would love to go to the Curragh,” O’Brien reported. “If he didn’t we could maybe look at a race over Arc weekend.
Today’s scheduled Clonmel fixture was cancelled yesterday due to waterlogging after significant rainfall at the track. The decision came soon after yesterday’s scheduled fixture at Killarney was also cancelled.
