Light connections happy with state of Curragh ground
The Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt is due to fly into Ireland today ahead of his bid to complete a Derby double in the Budweiser-sponsored version.
Both Cashmans, Paddy Power and Victor Chandler have North Light as their 4-5 favourite.
He will meet the Epsom second Rule Of Law, third Let The Lion Roar and fourth Percussionist again at the Irish track. Peter Reynolds, racing manager to the Danehill colt’s owners the Weinstock family, has walked the Curragh and is pleased with the condition of the ground.
North Light has not encountered fast ground yet this season and with rain forecast overnight and into today, connections are confident conditions will be ideal for the favourite.
Reynolds said: “It was fine, lovely ground and I was very happy with it.
“The colt won on soft ground at York but that doesn’t mean he necessarily needs easy conditions, and if it got very soft on Sunday that might not be a good thing as he’s such a good-actioned horse.
“He will be flying into Ireland tomorrow.”
Ben Sangster, son of late owner Robert, reports the John Gosden-trained Percussionist to be in top form as he tries to reverse the Epsom form.
“He travelled to Ireland today and he took it well and I believe he’s in good form. John Gosden told me he was very pleased with his final gallop in the week and all seems to be well,” said Sangster.
Percussionist was two lengths behind North Light at Epsom, just losing out on second and third place in the dying strides after failing to handle the undulations.
Sangster believes the return to a more conventional course could help him get a bit closer to North Light this time.
“We would not be confident of reversing form with North Light but you can never be frightened of one horse, although North Light is obviously a very good horse,” he said.
“Percussionist didn’t really handle Epsom, though, and the Curragh will hopefully suit him better. Whether that will be good enough is another question.”
Rain was forecast at the track for last night and Percussionist proved he could handle softer ground when recording a 10-length win in the Lingfield Derby Trial.
However, Sangster believes he is equally as effective on quicker going.
He added: “I hope it’s good ground for everyone. I think he’s capable of handling fast ground but at Lingfield that day he just went through the soft better than some of the others, and maybe it would inconvenience some in the race on Sunday.”
Connections of the second Gosden trained runner Day Flight have warned that the colt could miss the race if they are not satisfied with the ground.
Day Flight, a son of Sadler’s Wells, was a 20-length winner of the Michael Seely Memorial Glasgow Stakes at York last month but he found the going too firm in the French Derby last time, though he held on well to be a length fourth to winner Blue Canari.
Day Flight completed his preparations for the Group One race with a gallop at Gosden’s Manton yard on Wednesday and he travelled to the Curragh today.
Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to his owner Khalid Abdullah, said: “Day Flight is on his way to Ireland but we will certainly be looking at the ground before we give him the green light to run.
“The ground was too firm for him at Chantilly and he doesn’t want any jar on Sunday, but we are encouraged by a favourable forecast which suggests that considerable rain will arrive. As long as that happens everything will be fine for him.
“However, if it did come up very fast he definitely wouldn’t run.”
Paul Hensey, manager at the Curragh, was expecting around half an inch of rain last night after a dry day at the track.
“I walked the course this morning and it was genuinely good ground then and it’s been a breezy, dry day, so by the time we race tonight, I would expect it to be good to firm ground,” he said.
“We have about 15 millimetres of rain forecast overnight, which is about half an inch, so that should take it back to good ground. I would expect it to be around that on Sunday.
“We will have a fresh strip of ground for the Derby. We will move the rails and there is nine yards that haven’t been raced on since last year and there is a lovely cover of grass.”
A total of 11 runners go to post for tomorrow's race with the home defence being led by Dermot Weld’s Grey Swallow, who was last seen when third behind Bachelor Duke in the Boylesports Irish 2000 Guineas.
Aidan O’Brien runs five, headed by Five Dynasties, winner of the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last week, and Hampton Court Stakes winner Moscow Ballet.
Book Of Kings, winner of a Curragh maiden in April, also takes his chance, along with Cobra, who was third in the Listed Silver Stakes earlier this month.
Last year’s Chesham Stakes second Tycoon completes the field on what will be his first start of the season.
The only withdrawals from the race were Alain de Royer-Dupre’s Dalayan and O’Brien’s Mikado.
Hensey is thrilled that such a high-class field has been assembled and added: “We are absolutely delighted with the field for the race and I think it’s the first time the first four home in the Derby at Epsom have come across here.
“We are looking forward to an exciting race again this year.”
Meanwhile French racing’s pin-up Bago has frightened away the opposition in the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp tomorrow and last season’s European champion juvenile will face only three rivals.
One of them is Alnitak, who is acting as a pacemaker for the Jonathan Pease-trained star, so in reality there are only two opponents in the Group One contest. Bago was hugely impressive in collecting the nine-furlong Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly on French Derby day last month on his seasonal debut.
