Irish Racing / Wayne Bailey / 08 September 2009 / Leave a comment

The 2007 winner heads the early markets and the four-time Ascot Gold Cup hero can reclaim his crown at the Curragh writes Wayne Bailey...

“It’s a little too early to place a bet but if he runs, it will be hard to see past Yeats. It’s true to say that he has the odd off-day now and then, but O’Brien can be trusted to have him ready for the big day”

Irish racegoers have had it pretty good in recent weeks with Sea The Stars topping the bill at Leopardstown last weekend when the weather came good.

Unfortunately, I was away in Canada so I couldn't make it up to my local track, but I'm delighted that the colt got to show his stuff in front of a home crowd and by all accounts, the atmosphere at the Foxrock venue was electric. Congratulations to all involved and the price of [7.4] advised on these pages for the Arc is now looking huge. I guess the sensible thing to do is lay-off the stake on that bet and enjoy a free bet on one of the greatest horses of our time.

Once again, the ground will dictate whether or not another great horse takes part in the big Irish race of the weekend, but for the moment, Yeats has been declared for the Irish Field St Leger this Saturday at the Curragh. If he makes the final line-up, racegoers will be in for a real treat and hopefully this writer will be among the crowd to watch the horse often described as one of the greatest flat stayers in history.

Indeed, the normally reserved Aidan O'Brien was clearly emotional when the eight-year-old became the first horse to win the Ascot Gold Cup four times, and clerks at the Curragh must be praying for the weather to stay good. It's been a while since I've seen the horse in action and to watch him race at the Curragh would be a little bit of compensation for those of us who missed the Irish Champion Stakes.

O'Brien said: "The plan is for Yeats to run; he's the main one... We'd love to run him but obviously he handles fast ground very well. He's in good order and if we can run him at all, we'd love to. If it was soft, it would be safe but it might not be his ideal ground."

The fact that the Doncaster St Leger takes place on the same day leaves Johnny Murtagh with a bit of a dilemma. The chance to partner Yeats in a big race on home turf may not come around again and The Vincent' O'Brien National Stakes also takes place at the Curragh on Saturday. However, the English St Leger is obviously top of the pecking order so it will be interesting to see what decision he makes. On that note, I wish they wouldn't stage the Irish St Leger on the same day as the English race. It seems pointless and racing authorities in Ireland should realise that it can't compete for precious newspaper and online space. In my opinion, the race should be run on the Sunday instead.

But back to the race itself, and Dermot Weld will be represented by Profound Beauty. I've great time for this Danehill mare but a Group Three win is about as good as it gets and there's no real reason to believe she'll make up the pounds required to beat Yeats.

The John Oxx trained Mourayan is also listed in the entries but I'd guess that a trip to Doncaster may be the preferred option and Alandi is most likely to fly the flag for the Currabeg based handler.

It's a little too early to place a bet but if he runs, it will be hard to see past Yeats. It's true to say that he has the odd off-day now and then (losing a listed race at Navan in April immediately springs to mind), but O'Brien can be trusted to have him ready for the big day. In short, if the ground is right and he gets a run, it will be very surprising if he's beaten. Hold off on the betting for now however and see how the weather pans out later this week.

Tags: Aidan O'Brien, Curragh, Dermot Weld, Irish Field St Leger, John Oxx, Sea The Stars, Wayne Bailey, Yeats