The Curragh authorities are anxiously awaiting news of whether Sunday's Budweiser Irish Derby clash between High Chaparral and Act One will go ahead.
Gerald Leigh, the owner of Act One, died on Saturday morning after a long battle with cancer. As a result a final decision on whether the French Derby runner up will travel to Ireland has been delayed.
"It would be great to have Act One here but we won't know more until Tuesday's declarations," the Curragh manager Paul Hensey said yesterday.
"Obviously Mr Leigh's death is very sad for everyone. But before the weekend we understood Act One was a probable to come to the Curragh." Hensey reports the going on the Derby course as currently "yielding" but with a good weather forecast leading up to Ireland's richest race.
That will be good news for Aidan O'Brien, who gave an upbeat bulletin on the Epsom Derby hero High Chaparral yesterday. "He is in good form since Epsom and we are happy with him. We could possibly run Della Francesca and Ballingarry in the race as well," O'Brien said.
Dermot Weld also confirmed yesterday that In Time's Eye will have another crack at High Chaparral, who beat him in the Derrinstown Trial.
"I would love firm ground for the horse but I'm not going to get it. However he will run irrespective of the going. I think he will run a good race, though High Chaparral has improved considerably since Leopardstown."
As well as Act One, a decision also has to be taken about whether Friday's King Edward VII winner Balakheri will make a quick reappearance in the Derby.
High Chaparral is likely to start a hot favourite to win Aidan O'Brien a third Irish Derby and give the trainer a boost following Johannesburg's weekend flop at Ascot. O'Brien said yesterday: "He is a bit stiff this morning but if you're asking me if he will be retired, the answer is I don't know.
"He is pretty low at the moment, both mentally and physically, and we have totally flattened him. He has paid the penalty for my mistakes.
"The decision was taken to have a go at the Kentucky Derby, which meant training him on bad ground in the spring. He had a run on bad ground against a Group One filly and then he went to Kentucky, which was a bit of a disaster. He had a hard time. Then we could only give him fitness work rather than pace work before Ascot.
"If I had to do it all again, obviously I wouldn't do it like that. If ever I'm lucky enough to have a horse like Johannesburg again, I will know to train him as a high-class sprinter."
This evening's Kilbeggan card survived an inspection and that should be good news for Paul Carberry, who can land both divisions of the novice hurdle with The Midge Fox and Carlesimo.
