Jockey Michael O’Sullivan returns to action at Roscommon

Cheltenham festival-winning jockey Michael O’Sullivan returns to action with three rides at Roscommon on Monday.

Last season’s champion conditional rider, one of the weighing room’s rising stars, had to have surgery after breaking his collarbone in a fall at Kilbeggan in April.

Despite not being able to utilise his claim, O’Sullivan secured three Grade One victories for his boss Barry Connell last season. They included Marine Nationale’s impressive success in the Supreme at Cheltenham.

The 23-year-old university graduate also won at the festival aboard Gordon Elliott’s Jazzy Matty in the Boodles Hurdle.

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O’Sullivan’s three rides on Monday include Macs Lady for trainer Shane Ryder in the first division of an Opportunity handicap hurdle.

Another young jockey on the rise is Danny Gilligan who can again successfully employ his 7lb claim on board The Abbey in Monday’s €24,000 Connacht National.

Gilligan was aboard the 10-year-old when he won twice last month.

In other news, Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg is fighting it out for favouritism in Royal Ascot’s Prince Of Wales’s Stakes after confirmation on Sunday that last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown will miss the race.

The Michael Stoute-trained star had impressed in a high-profile piece of work last week, on the back of which Frankie Dettori’s services were snapped up.

However, Desert Crown was found to be lame after another workout this weekend.

“I knew they weren’t happy with him yesterday morning,” said Bruce Raymond, spokesman for Desert Crown’s owner, on Sunday.

“He worked well on Wednesday. He doesn’t usually work like a rocket. His general work practice is to go steady early and to quicken. I didn’t see him yesterday. He worked nicely and I believe it was on his own. His final gallop was going to be next Tuesday or Wednesday with Dettori on him. Injuries so close this time to the race mean you don’t take chances,” he added.

In contrast, Luxembourg got a green light from O’Brien on Sunday on the back of his Tattersalls Gold Cup victory at the Curragh last month.

“The plan is to go for the Prince of Wales’s. Everything so far is going well. What was good the last day was it showed that he didn’t mind being ridden in front if he had to be. [We have] options,” he said.

Adayar, Godolphin’s 2021 Derby winner, was installed a 2-1 joint-favourite for the race with Luxembourg by some bookmakers.

Over the weekend, O’Brien’s Paddington, winner of the Irish 2000 Guineas last time out, was popular in betting markets for the St James’s Palace Stakes where he is set to clash with the English Guineas hero Chaldean.

The pair are now 7-4 joint-favourites with Coral for the mile highlight on Day One of the Ascot extravaganza.

In other Ascot news, El Habeeb could renew rivalry with Coltrane in the Gold Cup having finished third to that fancied runner in the Sagaro Stakes last time.

His trainer Kevin Philippart De Foy said on Sunday: “At the moment that is the plan. He ran well in the Sagaro. He’s fairly well one-paced and doesn’t have that change of gear he needed at Ascot to go and pick up the second. The winner was quite impressive and he deserves to be the favourite, but I thought we were a little bit unlucky on the inside and I think we deserve to be there.

“He settles very well at any pace and he always stays on in his races. He wouldn’t have the biggest stride, but he keeps galloping all day, so I don’t think the distance will be an issue.

“The form of his last few races stacks up well. He’s got plenty to find to be competitive, but I think he will be competitive for a place.”