Minnaloushe to get back into the black

Black Minnaloushe is set to try and regain the Group One winning thread in York's Juddmonte International in 12 days' time.

The Irish Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes winner has been beaten in both his last starts, the Eclipse and the Sussex Stakes, but trainer Aidan O'Brien is quick to excuse both defeats.

"When the horse won the Irish Guineas, we found out the way to ride him was to drop him out and give him plenty of cover until the last minute. Michael (Kinane) came back after Goodwood and said he couldn't get any cover and got there a furlong and a half too quick.

"I'm not worried about the trip at York. He did well in the Eclipse but he ran into a wall of horses. Bach ran well in the Eclipse too and is a possible for York but Black Minnaloushe is a strong possible," O'Brien said yesterday.

The Ballydoyle trainer also confirmed Johannesburg is on course for Sunday's Independent Wedgewood Phoenix Stakes and added that Freud is his likely runner in the Group Three Phoenix Sprint.

The ground at Leopardstown is currently described as "yielding" and an unsettled weather forecast until the weekend hasn't deterred the bookmakers rating Dermot Weld's Steaming Home as the most likely danger to the warm favourite, Johannesburg.

The filly is a 5 to 1 second favourite with Cashmans for the Group One contest as she tries to provide Weld with a first success in the race since Smokey Lady in 1979 and Kilijaro the previous year.

O'Brien also revealed that Minardi, last season' top European juvenile, is now likely to miss Ascot's Shergar Cup sprint in favour of joining his stable companion King Charlemagne for an attempt on the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest.

"It now looks probable that Minardi will go to Deauville on Sunday along with King Charlemagne," said O'Brien, who has won the Ascot race twice in the past with Lavery and Bernstein.

On the sales front, Goffs yesterday reported a 93 per cent increase in after-tax profits to £1.42 million on the back of a record turnover of over £39 million in last year's Orby and Challenge Sales.

The Goffs chairman Michael Osborne said: "It is the second year in succession our profits registered a substantial increase, while resources supporting the business also increased significantly over the same period."

At Sligo this evening, Tango Pasion tries to pick up the mile and a quarter handicap for the third year in a row. Niall McCullagh will be the Donie Hassett-trained mare's third different jockey too and despite topweight, she should still be hard to beat.

Another interesting prospect for punters looks to be Landofhearts-desire whose neck second to Soaring Eagle at Ballinrobe reads well enough for the six furlong claimer, while Eddie Ahern's decision to ride Kesh Kumay in the three year old race looks significant.