Maltesse the pick

Aidan O'Brien's mind may be preoccupied with next week's York meeting, where his all-conquering Irish youngsters will be exposed to a more robust home defence, but he has still taken time out to line up a three-runner raid on the opening session at Tramore this evening.

He kicks off with Maltesse in the Frank Gillane Memorial Maiden Hurdle. She has looked rather slow when placed in a couple of two-mile hurdles, but displayed a lot more dash at Galway when second behind Tryphaena on the flat. The distance there was two miles and indicated that she would be more effective over longer hurdle distances such as this.

Another Galway runner-up was Chaparral Lady, who was no match for Barney Curley's raider Magic Combination. On the day this may have looked no contest, but events in the meantime have combined to show just how competitive it really was.

Chaparral Lady herself won at Fairyhouse on Wednesday. O'Brien's mare is now up 10lb compared with her Galway mark, but she will still be hard to beat.

The final Ballydoyle runner is Brownsfield, who looks the weakest leg of the trio as she was only fourth of five to Generous Charmer at Naas.

Liam Browne, having this week won his appeal against the Galway Stewards' failure to take down the number of Grand Ambition and award the Compaq Services Maiden to Omni Cosmo Touch, may record his second winner in three days with Notional.

Michael Kinane will ride Ramooz for trainer Ben Hanbury in the Group Three Ridgewood Pearl Desmond Stakes over a mile at the Curragh on Saturday. "Ramooz is in great form and he is a definite runner," said the Newmarket trainer yesterday.

Ramooz has won three Group Three races at the Curragh - the Minstrel Stakes in 1997 and again last month, while in September last year he won the Aon MacDonagh Boland Stakes.

Glenmead, a convincing winner at Pontefract last week, looks virtually certainto take his chance in next week's Tote Ebor Handicap at York. "I would say he is a very likely runner," said trainer Alex Stewart.