Horse Racing: No Bankers Among Ireland's Ascot Enemies

Ireland's Flat trainers have a lot to live up to at Royal Ascot next week after the heady success of their jumping fraternity, who took the Cheltenham Festival by storm and didn't fare too badly at Aintree, completing a 1-2 in the Grand National.

Comparisons between Flat and jumps are not entirely fair, and even if Aidan O'Brien had a Royal Ascot to remember, Irish trainers could not possibly match the haul of 10 winners achieved over the four days at Cheltenham. So what is a realistic target next week?

In their market on the number of Irish-trained winners, Ladbrokes make a meagre two their favourite, which reflects the rather low-key overall challenge. In four of the last five years, the Irish have come away with between four and five winners, O'Brien leading the way with 10 victories during this period, but there was a blip in 2003, when Dermot Weld's In Time's Eye was the only high spot.

A major setback to next week's prospects is the non-appearance of Galatee. Jim Bolger's unbeaten filly, who had been supplemented for the Oaks at Epsom and backed down to second-favourite, only to meet with a setback, would have been just about favourite for Thursday's Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes.

"She won't be ready in time," said the trainer yesterday. "She had a problem with an elevated white-cell blood count before the Oaks and it hasn't cleared up in time. But she should be well on target for the Irish Oaks on July 15."

Inevitably, it is the Ballydoyle battalions that carry most weight. However, there is a rather second-division look about next week's team, if such a thing is possible with an overseas O'Brien raid.

There is no doubt the absence of George Washington from the St James's Palace Stakes is a serious blow. Ivan Denisovich looks set to deputise, but he would have to leave this season's form well behind to figure. Older runners such as Ad Valorem (Queen Anne Stakes) and Ace (Prince Of Wales's Stakes) also need to step up a gear, and Yeats faces a tall order on his belated return to action in the Gold Cup.

There are sure to be some aces in the O'Brien team, though, and in the race which opens the meeting on Tuesday, Ballydoyle could be fast off the blocks with Holy Roman Emperor. O'Brien has won the Coventry Stakes four times and evidently regards this Danehill colt ready for the job. Fire And Rain, at one time under consideration for the Derby, is an intriguing runner in the King Edward VII Stakes. This Galileo colt looked one with stacks of potential when winning his only start at Newmarket last season.

O'Brien's record in the long-distance races at Royal Ascot is moderate, but he has pencilled in Road To Mandalay for the 2m Queen's Vase. Another son of Galileo, this 420,000gns yearling beat a better- fancied stable companion on his only run to date over 1m5f at Navan.

On faster ground, the O'Brien team are hopeful of Race For The Stars turning round Irish 1,000 Guineas form with the Dermot Weld-trained winner Nightime in the Coronation Stakes. The latter's stunning 6l win, gained in testing conditions, could be flattering. Either way, there are definite chances of an Irish victory in next Friday's Group One feature.

In terms of strike-rate at Royal Ascot, few trainers can match John Oxx, whose 13 runners over the last seven years have yielded six wins, but he is not expecting any fireworks this time. "My three-year-olds are very weak," said Oxx yesterday. "Noelani, in the Golden Jubilee Stakes, will be our only runner. She has an outside chance of a place, no more than that."

Flat or jumps, one Irish trainer who can never be ignored is Tony Martin. Following the victories of the well-backed Barba Papa and Leg Spinner, he is on the trail of Tuesday's Ascot Stakes again, this time with Top The Charts, who warmed up with an effortless win under Ruby Walsh in a handicap hurdle at Listowel recently.

Desert Gold, a close fourth at Naas last week, is pencilled in for the 7f Buckingham Palace Stakes. Martin is not worried by the prospect of fast ground for his runners. "It's not like over here, you spit more than they water our tracks," he told me. "Ascot will be well watered."

With the Con Collins-trained Dandy Man prominent in betting on the King's Stand Stakes and David Wachman expected to field a fancied runner or two, four Irish-trained winners could be pretty near the mark.