Racing News round-up: Aidan O'Brien is preparing to crank up his classic preparations several notches this weekend and will send his first runners of 2006 to France on Sunday for the Guineas trial races at Longchamp.
The Ballydoyle trainer confirmed yesterday he will use the series of Group Three races at the Paris track for the fifth consecutive year in an attempt to sort out his likely starters for next month's classic races.
In conjunction with the Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown on the same day, for which O'Brien has six of the 11 entries remaining, it will see a significant step up in tempo for the ultra-powerful Co Tipperary yard which is expected to figure prominently in the upcoming Group One contests.
"The horses who could run at the weekend all worked nicely this morning and it looks like we will definitely have some runners in France as well as Leopardstown," O'Brien said yesterday. "Final plans haven't been finished yet. We will have to get them scoped and everything else but it looks like we will be busy."
It also hasn't been decided yet if Kieren Fallon will stay at home or travel to Paris but O'Brien does have the likes of the Prix Morny runner-up Ivan Denisovich, the Newmarket winner Aussie Rules and Dylan Thomas remaining in the colts' trial, the Prix de Fontainbleau. The mile Group Three event saw the ill-fated Landseer finish third in 2002 before landing the French Guineas a month later.
Ballydoyle's Queen Cleopatra is still in the Prix de la Grotte which Sophisticat won four years ago before going on to Group One glory in the Coronation Stakes.
Four O'Brien-trained colts, including the Beresford winner Septimus and the Criterium International fourth Poseidon Adventure, are still in the Prix La Force over 10 furlongs but also figure among the entries for the Ballysax.
Significantly, the long-time Derby favourite Horatio Nelson is not one of the Ballydoyle entries in the Ballysax which kicked off the classic years of O'Brien's previous two Epsom heroes, Galileo (2001) and High Chaparral (2002).
That appears to leave open the possibility of Horatio Nelson taking his chance in the 2,000 Guineas and O'Brien said: "The Guineas is very possible or he can still go for the Derrinstown. It's still open."
Paul Carberry has been out of action since picking up an ankle injury at the Aintree National meeting but the former champion jockey is expected to be back in action in time for next week's Punchestown festival.
"He will be back riding at Punchestown. He's fine at the moment but he wants to give the ankle as much time as possible to recover," said Carberry's agent, Ciarán O'Toole yesterday.
"He didn't want to risk riding ordinary horses. He would rather wait for the big guns next week. With a bit of luck there will be horses like Nicanor and Beef Or Salmon to ride."
Willie Mullins revealed that Hedgehunter is "50-50" to face Cheltenham Gold Cup winner War Of Attrition at Punchestown next week.
"Hedgehunter was given an easy time of it last week after Aintree, but he has been ridden out for the past two mornings and seems to be in good form," Mullins told the Racing Post.
"He'll be left in the Punchestown race at the forfeit stage but I'm in two minds about running him. We'll see what the weather does - I wouldn't want it any way fast for him."
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