AIDAN O’BRIEN has so far this season tried and failed to beat Sea The Stars with the cream of his Ballydoyle stable but Mastercraftsman is on schedule to be the next into line against the world’s top rated racehorse in next Tuesday’s Juddmonte International at York.

The champion trainer confirmed the Danehill Dancer colt is on target to take on Sea The Stars in the mile-and-a-quarter feature and although ground conditions are pre-occupying the dual-Classic and Eclipse winner’s connections, it is the trip that will be unknown territory for the Mastercraftsman team.

This will be his first start in excess of a mile and O’Brien said yesterday: “He has never been over the trip and he is a Danehill Dancer whose most impressive win was over six furlongs. We can’t be sure about him staying but we are looking forward to the race.”

That six-furlong performance came in last year’s Phoenix Stakes and the one time he has met his illustrious opponent came in the Newmarket Guineas in May where Mastercraftsman finished fifth behind Sea The Stars.

However O’Brien added yesterday: “That was his first run of the season and he came forward for that run. What we do know is that he is versatile sort in terms of ground.”

Both Fame And Glory and Rip Van Winkle have come off second best against Sea The Stars this season, in the Epsom Derby and the Sandown Eclipse respectively.

The Ballydoyle trainer added that he is unlikely to be heavily represented at the Knavesmire festival with Mastercraftsman joined by the current Ebor Handicap favourite Changingoftheguard and possibly one or two other runners.

Yeats is continuing to build up towards an autumn campaign with the Irish St Leger again a target for the legendary four-time Ascot Gold Cup winner followed by a possible tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

“But we will see what happens in the Irish Leger first,” O’Brien said before confirming Ascot’s QEII as Rip Van Winkle’s next intended race.

“He is still not a hundred per cent right on that foot problem but he is getting there and Ascot is the plan at the moment.”