Narrowing a Group One prize like today's Esat Digifone Irish Champion Stakes down to a match can be a dangerously presumptuous business, but this looks like developing into a classic clash of the generations between Pilsudski and Desert King.
Both horses have won three Group One races each and the official ratings have them well clear of Alhaarth, the only other Group One winner in the field. Alhaarth's win came almost two years ago in the Dewhurst. Although the likes of Swift Gulliver and Rayouni have the potential to improve, they still appear to have too much to do today. It will be no surprise to see the five-year-old Pilsudski and Desert King of the classic generation fight out the finish.
Which of the two will come out on top, however, is a much harder question to answer. On the face of it Desert King looks to have circumstances in his favour. Today's 10 furlongs falls ideally between the mile of his Guineas success and the mile and a half of his greatest victory in the Derby. There's also the consideration that he probably ran his best race of all last time out when things didn't go his way.
It looked like being another disappointing away trip for Aidan O'Brien's colt when he boiled over before York's Juddmonte International but, after compounding his troubles by pulling, Desert King ran on to finish only a length and a half off Pilsudski's top class stablemate Singspiel.
That was a revelatory effort by Desert King which probably makes him the second best threeyear-old colt in Europe behind France's Peintre Celebre. He should strip even sharper today. Against that, Pilsudski is using this race as a warm-up for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe but, even so, Michael Stoute's Breeders Cup and Eclipse winner is marginally preferred.
That is largely because of some evidence that Desert King can take a while to unwind into full speed and may be better suited to a wide, galloping track like the Curragh rather than Leopardstown. Despite the presence of a pacemaker in No Slouch, this race could demand tactical speed and that should suit the English-trained horse more.
There was a time when such a statement would have been hard to make as Pilsudski looked to be a true mile and a half stayer, but his defeat of Benny The Dip and Bosra Sham in July's Eclipse put the lie to that. Off a slow pace, Pilsudski quickened immediately when Michael Kinane asked and although Bosra Sham was arguably an unlucky loser, the colt was still a totally deserving winner.
His subsequent second to Swain in the King George was a typically gutsy effort and although Michael Stoute may be training him for the Arc, he should still have the armoury to pick up the Champion Stakes, in which older horses have the best record, en route.
It may be unwise to rule the unexposed, but improving, Rayouni out of calculations completely but Desert King does look the obvious one to chase Pilsudski home.
O'Brien should have better luck in the Group Three Flying Five where he runs the speedy two-year-old Hopping Higgins and the battle-hardened, if occasionally slow starting, Best Before Dawn.
Hopping Higgins is very quick but hasn't been helped by being drawn furthest off the rails and if Best Before Dawn breaks properly he could be the one to be on, especially now that he is returning to the minimum trip.
The nap, however, goes to Balla Sola in the opening maiden where Willie Mullins' colt goes on a retrieving mission for this column after a costly failure in the valuable Tattersalls Race at the Curragh two weeks ago.
Balla Sola showed a lot of pace to be right in the picture two furlongs out at the Curragh but then faded to finish fifth to Another Fantasy and the subsequent Listed winner Law Library. Considering Balla Sola got very warm before the race it wasn't a bad effort and, if a cooler colt leaves the stalls today, he can give leading apprentice Eddie Ahern the ammunition for another winner.
John Murtagh has been in superb form recently and his presence may make the difference to Winged Hussar, who was runner-up to Native-Darrig twice and to Saving Bond in the GPT at Galway, in the Oakdale Handicap.
Michael Bell runs Sweet Solera Stakes third Silent Tribute (Michael Fenton) in the Listed Premio Novella over a mile at Milan tomorrow. Sopran Dandy, whose wins this term include the Listed Premio Gino Mantovanni, could prove the raider's biggest rival.
