Racing News: Dermot Weld is leaning towards giving his major 2,000 Guineas hope Grey Swallow a pre-classic warm up at Leopardstown in just over two weeks.
The Curragh trainer used Leopardstown's Guineas Trial as a Newmarket preparation for Refuse To Bend last year, but this season there are just two weeks between that race and the Guineas.
Nevertheless, Weld said yesterday: "I would say at this stage he is more likely to run than not. I would put it at 60-40 in favour of Grey Swallow running at Leopardstown."
Grey Swallow is a general 6 to 1 second favourite behind One Cool Cat for the Guineas, but before that Weld plans to run the National Stakes runner-up Wathab in Sunday's Loughbrown Stakes at the Curragh.
The ground at headquarters was good to yielding on the round course and yielding on the straight track yesterday, and not much change is expected by the weekend. "There is some rain forecast but I wouldn't think it will change a whole lot," said the Curragh manager Paul Hensey.
Likely opposition to Wathab could include Newton from Aidan O'Brien's yard and Amarula Ridge from Kevin Prendergast.
