Sahara Slew will miss Irish Oaks after setback

Ribblesdale Stakes winner Sahara Slew has suffered a setback and will miss the Kildangan Stud Irish Oaks at the Curragh on Sunday week. Her trainer, John Oxx, confirmed yesterday that the filly, who showed dramatic improvement to land the Group Two prize at Royal Ascot, will now be rested and brought back later this season.

"It's nothing serious but the Irish Oaks has come at the wrong time and she won't be ready," Oxx explained. "She will run again later in the year."

Her absence from the race strengthens the chances that Aidan O'Brien's Imagine, already the winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Vodafone Oaks at Epsom, could claim a third Classic prize.

Oxx also had news of Pugin, the colt who led the Budweiser Irish Derby for a long way on Sunday and eventually finished fourth. He is to be aimed at either the Rothmans Royals St Leger at Doncaster on September 15th or the Irish equivalent at the Curragh on the same day.

"He had a great run in the Derby," said Oxx. "And I'm hopeful he will be a Leger type."

Godolphin's challenge for Saturday's Coral Eurobet Eclipse Stakes will be spearheaded by Tobougg with Fantastic Light switched to tackle the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot three weeks later.

The Dubai-based operation confirmed yesterday that Frankie Dettori is to ride Tobougg, third to Galileo in the Vodafone Derby on his last outing, in the big race with Broche also running as a pacemaker.

Stablemate Ekraar may also make the starting line-up for the £325,000 contest at Sandown provided he pleases connections in the next 24 hours.

The decision to withdraw Fantastic Light from the contest was widely expected, with the sponsors not quoting him in their betting for the Group One event.

Forecast rain has given officials at Sandown a headache over plans to water the course before the valuable three-day meeting at the course gets underway.

Showers are due to arrive in the southeast before Saturday's big race, but with the ground drying out all the time Sandown's managing director Andrew Cooper admitted that the course may have to be watered in places today.

Cooper said last night: "It's increasingly uncertain when we are going to see some rain although the latest forecasts suggest that it is going to stay hot and dry until Thursday night and then we will see showers for the next two days.

"But we could easily get nothing until Saturday night so we will have to decide what is best.

"If we get another day like this then we may have to put some water on just to keep it good to firm all the way round.

"We are very conscious of the weather forecast and we will have to monitor the situation day-by-day."

Fears that rain might turn Sandown into a mud-bath prompted punters to come for Michael Jarvis' mud-lover, Holding Court, in the sponsors' ante-post betting for the big race.

Installed as a 25 to 1 shot by the sponsors for Eclipse yesterday, that price was cut to 16 to 1 as punters rushed to back last year's French Derby winner.

Also in demand for the Group One contest were the Aidan O'Brien-trained Black Minnaloushe, now the 2 to 1 favourite from 9 to 4, and Lockinge Stakes winner Medicean, a 7 to 2 chance from 4 to 1.