Green Impact drops to Group Two level at York but faces formidable rival in Almaqam
Jessica Harrington's
team for next week's Galway festival, but before that the Co Kildare trainer is pursuing Group Two glory at York on Saturday.
Her Classic contender Green Impact drops a level for the Sky Bet York Stakes over 10 furlongs, but comes up against a potential top-notch performer in Almaqam.
The latter beat no less than the subsequent Prince of Wales's Stakes winner Ombudsman at Sandown in May and lines up here in pursuit of his favoured easy ground conditions.
Green Impact is among a trio of three-year-olds taking him on. Shane Foley's mount drops in trip from finishing sixth to Lambourn in the Irish Derby. In between that and filling sixth in the 2,000 Guineas, Green Impact landed a Listed contest at Leopardstown over this distance.
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Other Irish interest cross-channel on Saturday will be at Ascot where Willie McCreery has booked David Egan for Jancis in the Group Three Valiant Stakes. She ran behind Whirl and Kalpana in the Pretty Polly Stakes on her last start.
Also on the King George undercard, Jamie Spencer will team up with Aragum Bay for the Harty team in the Group Three Princess Margaret Stakes for juveniles. Aragum Bay won at Listed level on her last start in Tipperary.
The Harrington team also has a couple of runners at Gowran on Saturday, the only Irish weekend fixture ahead of next week's festival action in Ballybrit.
They include the Bellewstown winner Sea Coral, who goes in the featured Listed Marble City Stakes. Top-rated in the three-year-old contest is Emit, one of three hopefuls for
Joseph O'Brien
. On quick ground he attempts 12 furlongs for the first time.
Emit is a half-brother to Norwalk Havoc, who is on course for another crack at this Tuesday's Colm Quinn Mile, the day two festival feature in Galway.
The gelding was beaten by just a neck by Mexicali Rose in the prestigious handicap a year ago and is a general 14-1 shot in ante-post betting to go one better.
Selective watering began in Ballybrit on Friday with a mainly dry weather outlook for the coming days. Ground conditions are yielding on the flat course and good on the National Hunt circuit.
Original plans for Green Impact were to target Sunday's Group One Grosser Dallmayer Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen in Munich only for ground conditions to turn against the Irish hope.
A total of 11 horses will still line up in the 10-furlong contest due off at 1.10pm Irish time, and Irish jockey Ronan Whelan will fly out to ride the French filly Dare To Dream.
Godolphin's Tornado Alert is one of a pair of three-year-olds taking on older horses in the race, and Oisín Murphy again rides. Tornado Alert was runner-up to Trinity College in his last start in Royal Ascot's Hampton Court Stakes. The top French performer Map Of Stars is also in the line-up for James Doyle.
The German highlight was a once popular option for Irish horses, with Timarida (1996), Market Booster (1993) and Kooyonga (1992) all successful.
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