AIDAN O’BRIEN is in domestic action with four runners at Naas tonight, but the champion trainer’s focus will be on Newmarket this afternoon where Lillie Langtry is set to start favourite to fill a rare Group One blank in O’Brien’s CV.

Eight runners line up for the Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes over a mile, including the older fillies Strawberrydaiquiri and Spacious, who fought out a memorable finish at Royal Ascot in the Windsor Forest Stakes.

However, most attention will centre on the international clash of the French star Special Duty and Lillie Langtry, who confirmed her return from a serious knee injury with a sparkling defeat of Gile Na Greine in last month’s Coronation Stakes.

Gile Na Greine is back for another crack at her rival today, but the Special Duty team have had to draft in Tom Queally to ride the Juddmonte-owned filly after Christophe Lemaire was ruled out with a fractured leg.

Stephane Pasquier, who partnered Special Duty in the English and French Guineas, both of which she got in the stewards room, is also on the injury sidelines.

O’Brien reported yesterday: “Lillie Langtry hasn’t done much since Ascot and she seems fine. She came on a lot between the Irish Guineas and Ascot and I suppose it is possible she might have come on again. I think the form of the English Guineas was in Ascot. but it should be a good race.”

Jacqueline Quest, who was demoted to second by the stewards at Newmarket in favour of Special Duty, was behind Lillie Langtry and Gile Na Greine when third in the Coronation Stakes.

The last Irish winner of today’s feature was the Michael Cunningham-trained Rose Above, who won in 1979 when it was a Group Three known as the Child Stakes.

Gile Na Greine’s trainer, Jim Bolger, will be in action too today with Radharcnafarraige, who lines up in the Group Two Cherry Hinton Stakes. The two-year-old has almost three lengths to find with Memory on Albany Stakes running at Ascot.

Ballydoyle’s eyes on Friday will turn to Starspangledbanner’s attempt to complete a Group One double in the Darley July Cup. The Golden Jubilee winner is a warm favourite to follow in the footsteps of Stravinsky (1999) and Mozart (2001.)

“Like Lillie Langtry, he hasn’t done a lot since Ascot but he seems fine,” O’Brien said. “We could also run a two-year-old (Emperor Hadrian) in the seven furlong race (Superlative Stakes) on Friday.”

With Johnny Murtagh on duty in Newmarket, Seamus Heffernan steps in for the ride on Queen Of Spain in this evening’s opener at Naas, and a repeat of her run behind Memory at Ascot will make the filly hard to beat.

Heffernan is on Rudolf Valentino in the colts maiden and there should be significant improvement in the Oasis Dream colt following his debut behind Longhunger at Leopardstown.

Mt Weather won the six-furlong handicap two years ago off a higher mark than he has now and showed a return to form at Bellewstown last week when only just beaten after stumbling at the start.

A slow start also cost Appletreemagic at Ballinrobe last time, but she could put that right in the apprentice handicap.