Ciro provided Aidan O'Brien's first Group One success of the season in Sunday's Prix Lupin and the Ballydoyle trainer is formulating plans for another Longchamp raid next weekend with Saffron Walden.
The Irish 2,000 Guineas winner hasn't been seen since finishing down the field in York's Juddmonte International last August but has the Group One Prix d'Ispahan over nine furlongs on Sunday as a likely reappearance date.
An alternative for Saffron Walden is Newbury's Lockinge Stakes, where the Sussex Stakes winner, Aljabr. could face a mouth-watering clash with the top French miler Sendewar.
"We'll probably decide on Thursday where he will go," O'Brien said yesterday. "ChiangMai is also in a Group One at Longchamp (Prix de St Alary) but that will depend on the ground. She's a possible for the Irish 1,000 Guineas, too, if the going is on the easy side."
Before all that, Royal Kingdom will fly the Ballydoyle flag in tomorrow's Dante at York and O'Brien reported: "We've been very happy with him since his run in France and the ground will be a lot better in York."
O'Brien attributed Monashee Mountain's disappointing run in the French 2,000 Guineas at the weekend to the track rather than the soft ground.
"Longchamp can be a funny track if a horse isn't used to it and Michael (Kinane) said he couldn't get the horse organised," he said. "We'll wait and see where he goes next, but I wouldn't imagine he will clash with Giants Causeway in the Irish Guineas."
John Bowles might operate at a different level from Group One's at Longchamp but there is no hotter trainer in Ireland at the moment, a point he can emphasise again at Killarney this evening.
The Welsh-born, Co Westmeath-based handler had six winners last week, prompting him to remark: "The way things are going, I'd win with the family cat!"
Christys Pet can be an appropriately named winner of the apprentice claimer then, but there are also sound form claims for thinking the filly can do it.
She didn't get the clearest of runs behind Masnada at Navan in her first start of the term, races here off a mark of 55 and is set to carry just 7-12.
The danger looks to be the Curragh winner, Sandholes, who won at headquarters last term off 63. Eddie Lynam's filly has the bonus of the talented Wayne Lordan on her back but she does have to concede a lot of weight to Christys Pet.
The other "hot" trainer at the moment is Pat Flynn, whose horses are having a welcome resurgence of form. Ishkasullus is lurking off a light weight in the Lynch Handicap and with Flynn's current form she must be respected. She stumbled badly in the race won by Shanillo at Cork and didn't run too badly at Clonmel before that.
Ciara Flyer should be okay on the fast going in the Dunloe Castle handicap; while the surface can also be the key to Rua Lass lifting the opener.
