It might look a silly idea come 4.00 this afternoon but Duke Of Marmalade looks capable of turning around Newmarket form with Cockney Rebel from three weeks ago to land the Boylesports Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt, fourth in the English Guineas, has almost two and a half lengths to make up on Cockney Rebel and will also have to overhaul the Newmarket runner-up Vital Equine if he is to secure the first Irish classic of the season.

Since his stable companion, Excellent Art, has been well backed ante-post, and Creachadoir represents the Jim Bolger team, Duke Of Marmalade faces a formidable challenge from the home team too.

But the improvement that almost all of O'Brien's string has shown for a run this year, as well as his probable appreciation of this stiff mile, means it is perfectly possible to make a case for the apparent Ballydoyle number one beforehand.

Of course the best form logic of all is boasted by Cockney Rebel who swept to a dramatic victory earlier in the month and will be attempting to become just the sixth horse to complete the Newmarket-Curragh double.

On the back of such an eye-catching classic success, and with the star French jockey Olivier Peslier already a double Irish Guineas winner, it is highly likely Cockney Rebel would have been a heavy odds-on ante-post favourite if he was with a more high profile trainer than Geoff Huffer, especially on the back of some sparkling gallop reports.

Certainly there may well be some rueful acknowledgements afterwards that the evidence was staring everyone in the face, but there is also the suspicion that the bare Newmarket form could turn out to be less than solid.

Duke Of Marmalade's Newmarket run was a first since a serious leg injury last year and it is reasonable to expect significant improvement from him. Each-way punters could do worse than to also expect improvement from Followmyfootsteps' effort in the French Guineas.

In what looks like turning into a major weekend for Séamus Heffernan, the season's leading rider should also score in the Listed Isabel Morris Stakes on Achilles Of Troy and may also be on the mark with Theann in the Group Three Greenlands.

The filly found the mile of the Newmarket Guineas too far but the form of her warm-up run behind Arch Swing and Four Sins looks pretty smart now.