A total of four Irish horses, including the Aidan O'Brien pair of Queen Elizabeth II Stakes contenders Excellent Art and Duke Of Marmalade, will be in Group One action at Ascot tomorrow but there will also be top-flight Irish interest in New York tomorrow night as Alexander Tango bids for a Grade One double at Belmont Park.
The Tommy Stack-trained filly runs in the $600,000 Flower Bowl Invitational over a mile and a quarter on turf, the same course and distance on which she landed the Garden City Breeders' Cup Handicap earlier this month.
Alexander Tango showed an impressive turn of foot on that occasion to race from the back of the field and win by three-parts of a length under the local rider, Shaun Bridgmohan.
He will be back on board this weekend although the Stack team believe their filly faces a much tougher task this time.
The home opposition will include the Yellow Ribbon winner Wait A While as well as Royal Highness who beat an international field to win the Beverly D Stakes at Arlington last month.
"She will have to step up a bit against this kind of opposition but she actually did well to win the last day and she has been in very good form since," said Stack's son, and assistant, "Fozzie", from New York yesterday.
"She is in good shape and seems to be enjoying herself out here. It does look a significantly tougher race but we're hopeful of a good run.
"The jockey has ridden her now and knows her so we're happy to leave him on," he added.
Only one Irish-trained horse has ever won the Flower Bowl before when Dermot Weld's Dimitrova won impressively under Jerry Bailey in 2003.
As expected, George Washington doesn't figure among the final declared field of 10 for tomorrow's QEII for which the French filly Darjina remains a general 2 to 1 favourite.
Excellent Art will be ridden by Jamie Spencer with Mick Kinane on Duke Of Marmalade while Johnny Murtagh teams up with the James Fanshawe-trained Cesare.
Murtagh, however, will be on the Ballydoyle team for the Meon Valley Fillies Mile where he teams up with Listen for the first time as that horse bids to reverse Moyglare Stud Stakes form with Saoirse Abu.
Murtagh will also be in action for O'Brien in the Group Two Royal Lodge Stakes over a mile on board the Tipperary maiden winner Achill Island.
On Sunday, Kevin Prendergast's high-class three-year-old Haatef will step back to six furlongs for the Group Two Diadem Stakes where he could end up being ridden for the first time by Sheikh Hamdan's retained jockey Richard Hills.
"He has won over six furlong and seven but now we feel he is better running at six rather than at seven furlongs or a mile," Prendergast said yesterday.
"The jockey situation is still unclear. My man (Declan McDonogh) will be on duty at the Curragh but Sheikh Hamdan has another runner in the race and Richard might ride him."
One of McDonogh's mounts at the Curragh will be Evening Time in the Waterford Testimonial Stakes as the Prendergast filly drops back in class from the Group One Matron Stakes.
One of her opponents could be another Curragh inmate, Confuchias from Frank Ennis's yard, while an interesting contender looks like being US Ranger who is set to have his first start for Aidan O'Brien since his transfer form France.
Kieren Fallon will be at Dundalk tonight for the ride on De la Grandera in the 10-furlong claimer, although the 82-rated horse might not be one to get too heavily stuck into. The three-year-old has been disappointing despite an easy victory at Bellewstown and a better value option could be Declan McDonogh's mount Patrickswell.
History for O'Brien
Savethisdanceforme created a little piece of history by becoming the first horse to win under floodlights in Ireland when landing the Guinness European Breeders Fund Fillies Maiden at Dundalk last night. Settled towards the rear of the field early on under Seamus Heffernan, the Aidan O'Brien-trained 6 to 1 chance still had plenty to do as favourite La Sylvia led the field on the turn for home.
Promise Of Love made her bid for home a furlong out, but Heffernan mustered an irresistible late charge on O'Brien's charge, finishing three-quarters of a length ahead of Capall An Ibre, with Promise Of Love third.
