Swallow gets chance to soar

Irish Derby news: Grey Swallow, the champion two-year-old in Ireland last year, will tackle the Epsom hero North Light in Sunday's Budweiser Irish Derby.

Dermot Weld has committed Grey Swallow to Ireland's premier Classic after the colt pleased him in a work-out at the Curragh yesterday morning.

"He worked nicely and the present plan is to run next Sunday. He will run provided there is good ground," Weld said.

Paddy Power bookmakers are currently quoting Grey Swallow at 10 to 1 for the Derby along with another Weld-trained colt, Relaxed Gesture. The trainer, however, reported yesterday that that colt will miss the big race.

"Relaxed Gesture is sidelined and won't be back in full training for about six weeks. We also have Cairdeas (owned by President McAleese) in the Derby but he looks less likely to run. We will make a midweek decision about him," Weld added.

Grey Swallow will bolster the home defence in the Derby along with Aidan O'Brien's Five Dynasties who won the Group Two King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot on Friday.

Two other O'Brien-trained colts, Magritte and Wolfe Tone, are also being quoted in the ante-post betting despite neither of them having run yet this season.

With North Light a red-hot 4-to-7 favourite ahead of tomorrow's supplementary stage, the Curragh authorities will welcome Weld's call on Grey Swallow.

The grey colt won his seasonal debut at Leopardstown before running fourth to Haafhd in the Newmarket Guineas. Grey Swallow was a slight disappointment, though, when only third to Bachelor Duke on fast going in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.

"I don't know if he will get a mile and a half. I appreciate the purists will say he has too much speed to stay but there is encouragement in his pedigree. Daylami, his sire, won at a mile and a half and Grey Swallow's grandsire, The Minstrel, won the Derby," Weld said yesterday.

The ground at the Curragh was described as quick over the weekend and the track executive are already watering the course ahead of the three-day festival, which begins on Friday evening.

"The going is quick at the moment but there is no jar and there is a good cover of grass," reported the Curragh manager Paul Hensey yesterday.

"The weather people tell us that quite a bit of rain may come over Tuesday and Wednesday. They are predicting that an inch could fall. But if it doesn't then we will put on the equivalent of that ourselves to leave it right for the weekend," he added.

North Light is set to be opposed again by Let The Lion Roar, who finished third to him at Epsom and also in the Dante at York last month.

Rule Of Law, who missed out on the King Edward with a respiratory infection on Friday, will have to be supplemented at a cost of 95,000 tomorrow if he is to get the chance to improve on his second at Epsom.

One star that could appear at the Curragh is Vinnie Roe, who missed out on the Ascot Gold Cup last week. He may yet take his chance in the Curragh Cup.

The former Melbourne Cup winner Media Puzzle had been targeted at the Curragh Cup but has had a slight hold-up and his reappearance has been delayed by a couple of weeks.

IRISH DERBY BETTING

Paddy Power: 4/7 North Light, 4 Let The Lion Roar, 8 Rule Of Law, Five Dynasties, 10 Grey Swallow, Dat Flight, Relaxed Gesture, Econium, 12 Magritte, 14 Cairdeas, Wolfe Tone.