Rolo Tomasi is all set to try and maintain his unbeaten record as he heads a strong Irish challenge for Sunday's Heinz 57 Phoenix Stakes at Leopardstown.
The impressive winner of the £100,000 Goffs Challenge on his second start, Rolo Tomasi will be bidding to give trainer Eddie Lynam his biggest success in the Group One contest, and yesterday Lynam reported: "It's all systems go. He's in great form, working well and it's great to be going there with a chance."
Lynam's most important winner to date was Tantum Ergo in the 1988 Park Stakes, but he believes Rolo Tomasi is in a different class.
"He's not just a jump and run horse. He can be held up and come with a run. You can pick holes in some of his form but other parts are holding up well, and it's nice that Johnny Murtagh can ride him again," Lynam added.
The in-form Dermot Weld team will be represented by Pharmacist, while the Coventry Stakes third, Access All Areas, is also a likely runner.
Kevin Prendergast's smart two-year-old Storm Cove has been sold to the US, but the Curragh trainer will be represented by Polaire, a Gowran winner who was fourth to Pharmacist in a listed race over the Heinz course and distance last time.
"It looks a hot contest but I'm hopeful of a good run. She's only learning how to race now," Prendergast said yesterday.
The appeals and referrals committee of the Turf Club yesterday accepted the explanation for the improvement in form shown by I Have You Now when winning the D & E McHugh New Holland Handicap Hurdle at Kilbeggan on June 15th, but the horse was disqualified after the committee also considered a report that a prohibited substance, Phenylbutazone, was found in a sample taken from him after the race.
I Have You Now's trainer, Charlie Byrnes, was fined £1,000 for a breach of Rule 148(ii) in respect of the prohibited substance.
The amended race result is: 1, Candy Gale; 2, Johns Tough Lady; 3, Oranbay.
Open Secret, an impressive winner at Carlisle on Monday night, will now be aimed at the Tattersalls Breeders Stakes at the Curragh on August 29th, the filly's trainer Alec Stewart announced yesterday.
The daughter of Mac's Imp had finished runner-up on both her starts before Monday's win over Golden Biff, including a neck second to Flanders in the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury.
Plumpton racecourse director Adrian Pratt has been elected to fill the vacant position at the British Horseracing Board as an Industry-nominated member and director for a term of four years.
