Ireland's latest juvenile star, Myboycharlie, put up an exceptional performance to maintain his unbeaten record in Sunday's Darley Prix Morny at Deauville and it was enough to generate favourable comparisons with another brilliant Irish winner of the race, Fasliyev, from the official handicappers yesterday.
On the strength of his defeat of Naragora and Alexandros at the weekend, Myboycharlie is now one of the market leaders for next year's 2,000 Guineas along with Rio Del Plata and Henrythenavigator.However, on official ratings, the Tommy Stack-trained colt is some way clear of his rivals after putting up a "serious performance" at the weekend according to Ireland's senior flat handicapper, Garry O'Gorman.
"He is, by a long way, the best two-year-old in Europe right now, and I think he would have to rank as the best winner of the Morny since Fasliyev (1999.) I think he is likely to get a figure of at least 122, maybe more," O'Gorman said.
"To the best of my recollection, Fasliyev got a 125 rating for that run and on the evidence of Sunday, you couldn't rule out Myboycharlie receiving something similar. I know the French handicapper thought a lot of the two placed horses so to put them in their place the way he did was a serious performance.
"To put up a rating in the 120s is unusual for a two-year-old at this stage of the season. You have to go back to Fasliyev. Obviously nothing has been decided officially yet, and ratings can change later in the season, but we are looking at a performance in that sort of category," O'Gorman added.
Myboycharlie is a general 10 to 1 shot for next year's 2,000 Guineas for which the Tommy Stack team are "hopeful" of his prospects for getting the mile trip. However, the indications are that the colt will be kept to six furlongs for his next start in the Middle Park Stakes.
"He will probably run next in the Middle Park, or the Dewhurst, something like that," said Stack's son and assistant, "Fozzie," yesterday. "Seven furlongs won't be a problem and hopefully he will get a mile next year." He added: "We were very happy with his performance on Sunday. He travelled really well and everything went according to plan. He is a lovely actioned horse and there's no reason why he won't go on goodish ground."
Henrythenavigator, who lost his own unbeaten record in the Phoenix Stakes, is one of 11 Aidan O'Brien-trained horses remaining among the 17-strong entry for Saturday's Group Two Galileo Futurity at the Curragh after yesterday's forfeit stage. Also left in among the powerful Ballydoyle team is Lizard Island who chased home Rio Del Plata in the Champagne Stakes at Goodwood on his last start.
Last year's renewal of the Futurity threw up the subsequent juvenile champion Teofilo and Jim Bolger's latest two-year-old star New Approach is on course for a repeat in the seven-furlong feature. Dermot Weld's impressive two-year-old Famous Name could carry the Khaled Abdullah colours but every runner will probably have to deal with testing conditions.
The kick-off of the Rose Of Tralee festival is dependant on a 7.30 inspection this morning although officials are "quietly optimistic" that racing will go ahead. An initial inspection yesterday afternoon found that conditions had improved since the weekend when the course was unraceable. Along with an improved weather forecast, that was enough to defer a final decision until today.
If racing goes ahead conditions are sure to be testing for a week that will include Wednesday's Guinness Gold Cup and Friday's Listed Ruby Stakes. Already the decision has been taken that stalls will not be used today.
The day one feature is the Brandon Hotel Handicap Hurdle and although the Galway flat winner, Forthright, and Charlie Swan's Cloone Rocket are sure to be fancied, they will both have a difficult job grinding out a defeat of Qasbah.
A winner on soft ground at Naas, Qasbah was then only just beaten into third on even more testing ground at Sligo and his proven credentials on the surface could be crucial. The opening juvenile fillies maiden has been won in recent years by the likes of Alexandrova (2005) and Vintage Tipple (2002) and Sleeveless looks the most likely to join the illustrious winner list.
