Seamus Heffernan gets the chance to put the classic stamp on what has already been a remarkable start to the 2007 season when he teams up with Duke Of Marmalade in tomorrow's Boylesports Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh.
Duke Of Marmalade is among a trio of Aidan O'Brien-trained representatives left in the final field of 13 runners declared yesterday and although Michael Kinane was on board the colt when fourth to Cockney Rebel in the Newmarket Guineas earlier in the month it is Heffernan who gets the mount on his home turf.
"Seamus is first jockey here so he will ride Duke Of Marmalade," confirmed O'Brien yesterday who added that the other Guineas rides will be kept in-house as well.
"Colm O'Donoghue will be on Excellent Art and David McCabe rides Trinity College."
Heffernan has taken full advantage of Kieren Fallon's drugs ban to lead the Irish jockeys table this year, having already notched up 21 winners with 18 of them coming from the O'Brien stable.
He was a classic winner on board Imagine for Ballydoyle in the 1,000 Guineas five years ago but this will be the first time Heffernan is entrusted with very much the number one O'Brien contender in such a high-profile classic.
With Dylan Thomas rated as short as 2 to 5 to pick up Sunday's Tattersalls Gold Cup, and the ride on Peeping Fawn in the 1,000 Guineas also confirmed, it promises to be a major Group One weekend for the jockey.
The weekend, however, could be very much one of two halves as some forecast overnight rain on Saturday night and into Sunday morning promises to provide very differing ground conditions on each day.
Some light watering began on the straight classic course yesterday in order to keep the going "good to firm" for tomorrow but it may be a very different story on Sunday and that could result in some high-profile defections.
John Oxx has already expressed doubts about running the second favourite Arch Swing on soft going in the 1,000 Guineas and yesterday O'Brien expressed similar reservations on that score for Dylan Thomas.
"We will see what happens but if it came up soft then we would definitely have to seriously think again about running Dylan Thomas," he said.
The Mooresbridge Stakes winner Septimus is an alternative Ballydoyle runner if conditions turn testing.
Cockney Rebel is a 5 to 4 favourite with the sponsors for tomorrow's 2,000 Guineas where he will try and become just the sixth colt to complete the Newmarket-Curragh double.
Cockney Rebel will lead a three-strong British challenge consisting of the Newmarket runner-up Vital Equine and Stan Moore's Traffic Guard.
The major market mover yesterday was the apparent Ballydoyle second string Excellent Art, fourth in the French Guineas two weeks ago, who is now a 4 to 1 second favourite with Cashmans after being backed from double those odds.
Both the local trainer Frank Ennis and David Wachman will be doubly represented while Jim Bolger and Kevin Manning will field the Tetrarch Stakes victor Creachadoir.
The most notable defection from the final Guineas field is Eagle Mountain and Aidan O'Brien reported: "Eagle Mountain is a possible for either the French Derby or the English Derby."
2,000 GUINEAS BETTING: (Boylesports): 5-4 Cockney Rebel, 11-4 Duke Of Marmalade, 5 Vital Equine, 8 Excellent Art, 10 Creachadoir, 14 Ferneley, 33 Fleeting Shadow and Followmyfootsteps, 50 He's A Decony, Traffic Guard and Trinity College, 66 Confuchias, 500 Kingsdale Orion.
