It's Galileo and Fantastic Light, the sequel at Leopardstown this afternoon, where the first two from July's epic King George clash lock horns again for the Irish Champion Stakes.
As with most follow ups, the danger it could badly flop, and be less Godfather II than Beverly Hills Cop II, is ever present.
Certainly the bookmakers have dismissed Fantastic Light's chance of reversing his two-length defeat at Ascot by installing Galileo as a best priced 1 to 2 favourite. But that has not halted a week-long procession of positive vibes from Sheik Mohammed's Godolphin camp.
"He will have a better chance than before as the distance will be perfect for Fantastic Light. He has won many more races at a mile and a quarter than a mile and a half," said trainer Saeed bin Suroor.
However, the faith in Galileo from within Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle stables is undiminished as Irish racing's newest superstar bids to retain an unbeaten record that has seen him include two Derbys and a King George in a six race CV.
"He is and extremely special horse'" O'Brien said yesterday. "It is very rare for a horse to answer all the calls that he has, but he is an unusual horse. I imagine he and Fantastic Light will face into the straight and then we will see. It should be a great race."
On paper, a number of factors look to favour Fantastic Light today as compared to the King George. For one thing, he will have to concede 5lb less weight for age, but perhaps more importantly, the Godolphin horse will be running over his optimum trip.
In contrast, Galileo's best form is over the longer mile and a half distance. But he has already won twice this year over this afternoon's test, and O'Brien remains steadfast in his belief that Galileo will be even better over the shorter trip.
"From watching him in his work, he has always like a mile to 10 furlong horse. We have always thought he would be best from a mile to a mile and a quarter, so I don't think that will be a problem."
"The weight for age system has been there for years and is there for a reason, so I'm not worried about that. But Fantastic Light is a top class racehorse, a total professional, and I'm sure Saeed (bin Suroor) will have him trained to the minute," O'Brien said.
Galileo's rider, Michael Kinane, is aiming for a fifth victory in the Group One contest which is the fifth leg of this year's Emirates World Series.
Kinane won it last year for O'Brien on Giant's Causeway, but his great rival Frankie Dettori landed the spoils athe the two previous years on the Goldolphin pair, Daylami and Swain.
It's just one of the rivalries involved in the big re-match as Sheik Mohammed tries to reclaim some of the year which has been dominated so far by the Coolmore duo of John Magnier and Michael Tabor.
A total of 14 Group One victories throughout Europe have already been notched up this season, and apart from Galileo, the Magnier-Tabor partnership are also scheduled to run both Mianardi and Mull of Kintyre in today's big sprint at Haydock Park. Hawkeye is also declared to run in tomorrow's Prix du Moulin at Longchamps.
Whatever about the others, it will be a real shock to all at Coolmore-Ballydoyle if Galileo gets beaten. The impeccably bred colt, valued as high as $50 million for stud purposes, had to knuckle down and race for the first time in his career in the King George and responded admirably to some heavy pressure from Kinane's whip.
That experience should have hardened Galileo, and there may yet be some improvement left in him. Fantastic Light is at a career peak in the ratings, but there are no spectacular and widely publicised plans for him to drop even further in trip to a mile and then take on the best American dirt horses in the Breeders Cup.
