LEOPARDSTOWN PREVIEW:A FURLONG might not look particularly far, but that short distance could be crucial to Duff's chances of bringing off back-to-back victories in tomorrow's Group Three highlight at Leopardstown.
The south Dublin track also hosts a two-race jockeys challenge between flat and jumps riders, which is taking place to mark the 25th anniversary of the President’s Gaisce Awards for young people.
Throw in a Savel Beg Stakes that could see Age Of Aquarius turn himself into a genuine Ascot Gold Cup candidate and it promises to be an interesting Sunday afternoon.
Despite all that, the six-runner Ballycorus Stakes remains the most valuable event on the card, and it provides an intriguing return clash between 2009 winner Duff and his veteran rival King Jock.
Both ran in the Amethyst Stakes here earlier this month when King Jock ran Famous Name to a short head, with Duff four-and-a-half lengths behind in fourth.
The pair meet on similar terms this weekend but, crucially, over a furlong less, and that may be decisive in turning things around Duff’s way.
Last year Eddie Lynam’s stalwart ran races from five furlongs to a mile, but his three victories were all at seven furlongs, a distance Duff has looked most comfortable at throughout his career.
In addition to the Ballycorus, Duff’s 2009 campaign also included another Group Three in Tipperary’s Concorde Stakes and a memorable Group Two at Doncaster in the Park Stakes.
Now Duff gets his ideal conditions again, and the seven-year-old and Fran Berry can dominate from the front to such effect King Jock might not be able to overhaul him.
The Savel Beg has an enviable record of throwing up star stayers, with the subsequent Gold Cup heroes Royal Rebel and Enzeli among its list of recent winners and the record-breaking Yeats having scored in 2007.
Yeats’s retirement has thrown open the Gold Cup stage and his stable companion Age Of Aquarius is already a 7 to 1 second-favourite in some lists to fill the void next month.
Last year’s Grand Prix de Paris runner-up returned to action with a fine run in the Ormonde Stakes at Chester behind the ultra-progressive Harbinger, and there should be significant improvement to come from that.
Ground conditions should not be an issue for him, unlike possibly Profound Beauty, and Age Of Aquarius is rated to take care of John Oxx’s unexposed Haralan, who landed a handicap over the course and distance last time out.
The competition for bragging rights in the jockeys room should be intense before both races in the Gaisce challenge, and it may be an advantage to the flat team after the 14-furlong handicap with Declan McDonogh on board Zarinava.
The Aga Khan-bred mare has turned into a good hurdler for Jessica Harrington, but also has winning form on the level and has been dropped a few pounds in the ratings since her last appearance on the flat.
Zarinava disappointed in Haydock’s Swinton Hurdle earlier this month but can make her first start at this code in almost a year pay off.
Jessica Harrington has a number of fancies in the concluding bumper, but they will have a tough task against the Charles O’Brien-trained Double Double, who didn’t make things easy for himself when beaten at the Punchestown festival.
