Azamour favourite to fill Oxx's trophy chest

RACING/Irish 2,000 Guineas News: Azamour, the horse John Oxx rates as his best ever chance of winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas, has been installed as favourite to pick up the opening classic of the season at the Curragh on Saturday.

The weekend decision of the Barry Hills team not to run the Newmarket winner Haafhd in the Boylesports Irish Guineas left the ante-post favourite position open and Azamour is the bookmaker's choice to fill it. Both Paddy Power and the sponsors make the Newmarket third their 2 to 1 favourite ahead of One Cool Cat and Grey Swallow.

If Azamour does win he will complete Oxx's Irish classic success story. The 2,000 Guineas is the only classic the former champion trainer has yet to win and he didn't hesitate to nominate the Aga Khan-owned colt as his best chance to date of filling the gap.

"I've been placed a couple of times but I haven't had that many runners over the years. The good colts I've had have all gone in other directions. I'm sure if Sinndar or Alamshar had run in it they would have run well but we went another way with them," Oxx said yesterday.

"It's not something that keeps me awake at night. I'm not a stats person and there are plenty of other things to worry about. But it would be nice to win it and so far I would say this fellow is the best chance I've had.

"He seemed in quite good shape during his last bit of work and one would hope the race at Newmarket would bring him on. But you only get so much information at home. You have to wait for the track to find out," he added.

The bookmakers rate a fifth Irish-trained winner of the race in eight years likely but early yesterday it briefly seemed the home team might have a much harder fight on their hands.

A total of 25 horses were left in the race after the change in entry rules brought in by Horse Racing Ireland last month appeared to catch many overseas trainers out. Sunday's classic winner American Post was one of four French-trained colts left in the race as well as nine British-trained horses and one Italian.

The forfeit stage was changed last month but the European Pattern Book still had today down as the forfeit stage for the 2,000 Guineas.

A number of trainers including American Post's handler Criquette Head Maarek were subsequently in touch with HRI but it is not known if they will be subject to any financial penalty for leaving the horses in.

The Brian Meehan-trained Leitrim House and James Toller's Bachelor Duke are likely to travel from Britain, however, but there will still be plenty of interest in the reappearance of the Newmarket flop One Cool Cat.

He is one of six Ballydoyle entries left in and Aidan O'Brien said yesterday: "It's so far, so good with One Cool Cat but we might not run many others. Grand Reward and Newton are also in the Greenlands Stakes but the Guineas might be more possible for them." O'Brien also reported Antonius Pius to be fine after his troubled experience in the French Guineas on Sunday and Royal Ascot's St James's Palace Stakes, and a clash with Haafhd, is next on the agenda.

Grey Swallow heads Dermot Weld's Saturday entry that also includes Wathab and the trainer said: "We will make a decision about what runs later in the week. Grey Swallow looks fine at the moment." The ground on the straight Guineas course at the Curragh yesterday was described as "good" by the track manager Paul Hensey.

"The round course is good to firm which means we will probably have to water bits but I have an open mind about the straight course. If it needs a bit we will put it on but at the moment it is perfect going," he said.

Just eight have been entered for the Group Two Ridgewood Pearl Stakes with the James Fanshawe-trained Soviet Song appearing to dominate, while only eight are in the Isobel Morris Marble Hill Stakes for two-year-olds. Aidan O'Brien's unbeaten Russian Blue is one of three from Ballydoyle.

Paddy Power bet: 2 Azamour, 9-4 One Cool Cat, 11-4 Grey Swallow, 8 Leitrim House, 12 Bachelor Duke, 14 Grand Reward, 20 Meath & Wathab, 25 Bar.

Boylesports: 2 Azamour, 9-4 One Cool Cat, 5-2 Grey Swallow, 8 Leitrim House, 12 Bachelor Duke & Grand Reward, 16 Book Of Kings, 20 Meath & Wathab, 33 Bar.