Mull Of Kintyre ready to return at Royal Ascot

The 1999 Gimcrack winner, Mull Of Kintyre, is on the verge of a comeback in next Tuesday's Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Aidan O'Brien is considering allowing the colt kick off a strong Ballydoyle challenge at the royal meeting, as Mull Of Kintyre bids to return from a pedal bone injury.

The colt has not run since the Breeders' Cup Juvenile two seasons ago, and O'Brien explained: "A nail went up through his foot last spring but he might be ready to come back in the Queen Anne."

Running plans for Ascot will become clearer towards the weekend, but O'Brien confirmed yesterday that Sophisticat will run in the Queen Mary, while Monarchoftheglen will go in the Chesham.

"We have horses like Johannesburg, Rock Of Gibralter and Landseer in the Coventry and we will run one of them," O'Brien added.

At Tipperary tonight, the star steeplechaser Dorans Pride has a warm-up for next week in the 14-furlong handicap. The veteran has a choice of the Queen Alexandra or the Ascot Stakes but may have to give best in this contest to the Curragh runnerup, Berkeley Bay.

The expected rain for the area could play havoc with the forecast "good to firm" ground, but it shouldn't halt the Co Limerick trainer Charles Byrnes from continuing his excellent track record.

Byrnes had three winners from just six runners at Tipperary last season, and the Tralee scorer, Shallee, and the hattrick-seeking Golden Row can continue the streak.

Charles O'Brien's string seem to be returning to form with two winners this term and a number of decent placings recently, so maybe Silver Dagger can go well in the sprint handicap; and Brutus McGregor looks the solution to the last.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor warned yesterday that he is not certain Gold Cup favourite Marienbard will stay the trip in next Thursday's Royal Ascot showpiece. His four-year-old is 4 to 1 co-market leader for the two-and-a-half-mile contest.