RACING: ED DUNLOP is entitled to some "guest-of-honour" treatment at Leopardstown this evening because the Newmarket trainer's decision to run his star filly Snow Fairy against So You Think looks to have prevented the Red Mills Irish Champion Stakes from turning into a €750,000 damp squib.
Without the presence of Snow Fairy – for which Frankie Dettori is making a dash from riding at Haydock in the afternoon – So You Think would in all probability have faced a solo-show against just four opponents, two of them the Australian star’s own stable companions.
As it is, So You Think could still start the hottest favourite in the 35-year history of the race. Assert in 1982 was a 1 to 4 winner and there are some heavy hitters who may be tempted by similar odds about Aidan O’Brien’s star who confirmed a sky-high Australian reputation with a defeat of Workforce in July’s Eclipse at Sandown.
That reputation had previously taken quite a dent when So You Think was beaten by the ill-fated Rewilding at Royal Ascot but hopes appear to be growing at Ballydoyle that their multi-million Euro investment could yet follow in the footsteps of Suave Dancer, Dylan Thomas and Sea The Stars by winning this race on-route to an Arc victory next month.
So in the general expectation of a smooth success for the hot-favourite, there will be plenty attention paid to the impact of a rejigged 6.45 twilight start time for the big race and how that will impact on the attendance figure.
A crowd of 7,700 were present for Cape Blanco’s victory last year while just 9,000 turned up for Sea The Stars in 2009.
Séamus Heffernan was on board Cape Blanco 12 months ago and is looking forward to again teaming up with So You Think, the former dual-Cox Plate winner and Australian racing hero, who he partnered to that Eclipse victory.
“He hasn’t run for a couple of months, but he seems in good form and hopefully he’ll show what a good horse he is again. I’m not sure what the plan with him is but I’m sure he will be aimed at Group One races wherever he goes,” the jockey said yesterday.
“He’s shown form over different trips and he’s just a very good horse,” Heffernan added.
“I think there’s a drop of rain forecast at Leopardstown, but I think that’s needed and hopefully it will be nice ground.”
The ground was officially “good” yesterday and Dunlop’s decision to pitch Snow Fairy against So You Think has been significantly based on the likelihood of the going not turning any way soft.
“We have finally got our ground, and, while So You Think beat us more than nine lengths in the Eclipse, we needed that race badly and Snow Fairy is definitely a lot straighter now,” Dunlop reported yesterday.
“It will be tough taking on a high-class colt like So You Think on his home patch but there are not too many opportunities left in Europe.”
Snow Fairy’s chance though will be helped by Dettori’s proven ability to win the Champion Stakes. The charismatic Italian won the race four times in five years at the turn of the Millennium. With substantial question-marks over Recital and Roderic O’Connor, and Famous and Dunboyne Express never having won above Group Three level, Snow Fairy looks the one to make So You Think work.
But if he has to work overly hard there will be some long faces down Tipperary way.
Aidan O’Brien dominated this hugely valuable card in 2010 and a similar level of domination looks possible now for both him and Heffernan.
The champion trainer pitches three into the Coolmore Matron Stakes and while the mile trip theoretically favours Together over Misty For Me, the Irish 1,000 Guineas saw the latter come out on top and she looks to have progressed significantly since.
Await The Dawn ran away with the Group Three Kilternan Stakes 12 months ago and while the filly Look At Me may not repeat that level of performance she did run a decent third to Bible Belt at the Curragh last weekend and looks in form.
The strength of Ger Lyons’s juvenile team can be emphasised once more by Oh So Lucy in the opening maiden.
