Flat season is underway.

Triple Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats is all set to make his seasonal reappearance in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan on Sunday.

Aidan O'Brien has used the race named in honour of one of Ireland's most famous racehorses as a starting point for the last two seasons - and the ploy has proved successful both times.

Now an eight-year-old, his campaign will be built around winning the Gold Cup for an unprecedented fourth time.

"The plan is to start Yeats off on Sunday," O'Brien told www.racingpost.com .

"He started in this race in the past and I'm happy with him and he's ready to start off again."

Michael Bell has entered The Betchworth Kid after a fine run on his comeback behind Fiulin at Nottingham. The Newmarket trainer's runner has a preference for soft ground.

"We're keen to go there if the underfoot conditions look like being in his favour but obviously we have a lot of respect for the old star Yeats," said Bell.

"(But) if ever he is going to be vulnerable it will be first time up and he didn't win by far last year.

"We are keen to go, the track and the ground should suit him, hopefully.

"I was pleased with his last run, he was a lot closer to Fiulin than he was last season so he has definitely trained on.

"He's been an excellent horse for Henry Ponsonby and his enthusiastic band of owners.

"This race will tell us where we go for the rest of the season probably, he's a very, very decent stayer in soft ground."

David Nicholls' former O'Brien inmate Hindu Kush is also among the 12 entrants, while Curragh specialist Baron De'l will bid to land another Listed race for Eddie Harty.

Baron De'l has won six times over 10 furlongs at the Curragh and is without a win away from Irish racing's Headquarters.

"I just wish it was over 10 furlongs at the Curragh!" said Harty. "We are going there because I want to take him for the Wolferton at Royal Ascot and it would have been too long without a run from April 4 to the third week in June.

"The trip is not ideal for him but he has had a winter over hurdles so it is not unfair on him.

"Rather than disappoint the horse I'd prefer to give him a run somewhere and he gets all the allowances.

"He's very well and I'd prefer to give him a run than keep him on the boil until June.

"I didn't think he'd ever be running against Yeats but there is nothing else for him."

whats with all the views 4500

Sylvester Wrote:

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> whats with all the views 4500

anytime someone mentions racing from the uk/overseas we have a phantom clicker that for some reason clicks the post 1000`s of times. you think they have a dislike to oversea racing?

Winkle down to 4-1 for Guineas with Coral

RIP VAN WINKLE is just half a point from joining Delegator at the head of Coral's ante-post Stanjames.com 2,000 Guineas market after the firm on Wednesday cut him to 4-1 from 5-1 for the Newmarket Classic.


On a day when Arazan was trimmed to 10-1 from 12-1 for the 2,000 Guineas by Victor Chandler, Skybet further shortened 1,000 Guineas favourite Rainbow View to 5-4 from 11-8. Victor Chandler and Ladbrokes both cut Cheveley Park Stakes winner Serious Attitude to 5-1 from 6-1.

Epsom's Wednesday Derby trial resulted in its cosy victor Debussy having his premier Classic price cut to 20-1 from 50-1 with Ladbrokes. Most firms now offer 25-1 with Victor Chandler having knocked him downto that price from 66-1.

More imminent is Saturday's Bet365 Gold Cup, for which Irish raider Oodachee is into 10-1 from 14-1 with Bet365 and Skybet and 11-1 from 14-1 with Totesport.

Uneasy Mastercraftsman back into 4-1 for Guineas again


FIRST he was in favour, then he was out of favour, but Mastercraftsman was very much back in favour on Friday when the Ballydoyle star's odds for the Stanjames.com 2,000 Guineas were cut by many of the leading bookmakers.

After Rip Van Winkle reassumed his mantle as Aidan O'Brien's shortest-priced Guineas contender earlier in the week, it was widely assumed that he would head to Newmarket as the stable's number one Classic fancy.

However, assessing the pecking order has become impossible after Mastercraftsman was cut to 4-1 from 6-1 by Victor Chandler, to 9-2 from 6-1 by William Hill and Skybet, and to 5-1 from 6-1 by Coral and Ladbrokes.

Mastercraftsman was not alone in being backed on Friday, though, as Rip Van Winkle was trimmed to 9-2 from 5-1 by Paddy Power, while ante-post favourite Delegator is 100-30 from 7-2 with Boylesports.

Also cut for the colts' Classic were Arazan (8-1 from 10-1 with the sponsors), Intense Focus (16-1 from 20-1 with William Hill and Skybet) and Ashram (25-1 from 33-1 with Stan James).

Derby favourite Crowded House was once again in demand and is now 5-1 from 6-1 with Paddy Power and Stan James.

Fallon said in a tv interview that he heard Rip van winkle is the better of the o`briens

hibby be careful, I did tell you guys earlier in the week...

best thing to do is bet an "O'Brain Winner"

Delegator will not run if ground is too fast


FAVOURITE Delegator will miss Saturday's Stanjames.com 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket and be rerouted to France if trainer Brian Meehan considers ground conditions to be too fast.


Delegator is general 3-1 favourite for this weekend's colts' Classic following a sizzling success in the Banshahousestables.com Craven Stakes on the Rowley Mile 11 days ago.

"I will monitor the ground throughout the week, and also keep one eye on the weather forecasts because we're not prepared to risk Delegator if conditions are too firm," said Meehan, though he remains "very keen"to run the son of Dansili.

It was another dry day on the Rowley Mile on Sunday but the weather is set to break on Monday, with up to 4mm of rain forecast to fall. Further rain is expected on Tuesday.

A Met Office spokesman said on Sunday: "There is a band of rain coming through tomorrow which will affect the whole country, including East Anglia, but by the time it gets there it will be a weaker affair.

"The area of rain hangs around on Tuesday, when showers are possible. Wednesday will probably be the dry day of the week and then it will be generally unsettled into the weekend, with outbreaks of rain, though nothing too heavy.

Rainbow View betting 'bizarre', says Gosden



rainbow view exercised monday morning

RAINBOW VIEW'S trainer John Gosden on Monday described the betting activity on 1,000 Guineas contender Rainbow View as "completely bizarre" and assured punters that the filly was on target for Sunday's Classic

Rainbow View drifted out to third favourite for the Stanjames.com 1,000 Guineas on Betfair on Monday morning, reaching a high of 8-1 before regaining favouritism on the exchanges hours later. At 11.45am, her price had contracted again to 2.9.

"Rainbow View worked this morning and worked very well," Gosden said on Monday. "She worked particularly well and I am very happy with her."

Fantasia, like Rainbow View owned by George Strawbridge, was at one point a shorter price than the one-time ante-post favourite at 6-1 but later dirfted to 15-1.

Gosden's racing secretary Peter Shoemark also expressed surprise at the drift, considering Rainbow View's pleasing workout on the Al Bahathri gallop.

"She is fine and worked very well this morning so we don't know where it has come from," said Shoemark.

Forfeits for Sunday's fillies' showpiece are out on Monday.

Fixed odds firms, including sponsors Stan James, suspended betting on the 1,000 Guineas in the face of the drift.

Charlie McCann, head of PR for Stan James, said: "We did not see a great deal of opposition to the filly [Rainbow View] before we suspended, but she is weak on the exchanges and we felt it prudent to suspend betting.

"If there was something seriously wrong with the filly one would have thought that Fantasia, in the same ownership, would come in for strong support but this is not the case."

1,000 Guineas
Betfair (prices at 11.45am on Monday): 2.9 Rainbow View, 6 Serious Attitude, 16 Fantasia, 12 bar

AIDAN O'BRIEN and team Ballydoyle face an anxious few days in the lead-up to the Stanjames.com 2,000 Guineas after the trainer revealed on Monday afternoon that Rip Van Winkle was discovered to have a bruised foot.

O'Brien said: " Rip Van Winkle pulled out sore this morning and when we took the shoe off one of his front legs, we found a stone bruise.

"We think that he is going to be fine and that he will be able to run on Saturday, but we will have to wait and see how he is over the next few days before making a final decision."

Rip Van Winkle and Mastercraftsman are expected to head up O'Brien's bid for a sixth win in the Newmarket Classic for which he has three other acceptors -Grand Ducal, Westphalia and Set Sail.

O'Brien said: " The plan is to keep Westphalia and Set Sail for the French 2,000 Guineas but everything will be reviewed over the next couple of days."

Rip Van Winkle had been cut to 7-2 joint favourite, along with Delegator, with both Totesport and Victor Chandler and was clear favourite on Betfair for Saturday's race, but the news from O'Brien is sure to further shake up the market.

European Free Handicap winner Ouqba was added to the race at a cost of £30,000 on Monday.

Angus Gold, racing manager to owner Hamdan Al Maktoum, said: "Barry Hills originally felt that the horse wasn't up to winning the 2,000 Guineas so he wasn't given an entry and there was always a question mark about his stamina.

"But he won the European Free Handicap in good style and he had plenty of racing last year, so he's experienced. Richard Hills rode him the other day and feels that he will stay the trip.

"It's hard to tell with the form because quite a few horses haven't run this season, but at this moment, it looks a very open race. I think that Sheikh Hamdan felt that he would like another string to his bow and I think that Ouqba could easily be in the frame on Saturday."

Paco Boy favourite for Lockinge Stakes


Bet365 Mile winner Paco Boy was on Tuesday installed 9-4 favourite by Coral to win the Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes at Newburyon May 16.


His impressive victory at Sandown on Saturday no doubt encouraged Coral's odds compilers to place him ahead of Gladiatorus in their market, with the Dubai Duty Free Stakes winner 11-4 second favourite.

Coral spokesman Simon Clare said: "Paco Boy silenced a few doubters by winning over a mile on Saturday but that was against inferior opposition and the Lockinge Stakes will prove once and for all whether he is a Group 1 miler or not."



Lockinge Stakes

Coral: 9-4 Paco Boy, 11-4 Gladiatorus, 5-1 Aqlaam, 14-1 Pressing, Twice Over, 16-1 Tariq, Thewayyouare, Major Cadeaux, 20-1 Dream Eater, Expresso Star

Lahaleeb delighted Mick Channon in her winding-up spin ahead of Sunday's 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

The Dubai Duty Free Stakes winner travelled six furlongs on the Summer Ground gallop in company with stablemate Please Sing.

Lahaleeb is notoriously lazy in her work and Darryll Holland had to niggle at her to get within half a length of her stablemate but Channon was impressed nonetheless.

"That's typical of Lahaleeb, who never does very much at home, but I promise you she's a smart filly and the formbook shows it," said Channon.

"I think it looks a good Guineas. John Gosden's filly (Rainbow View) is the yardstick and the Cheveley Park form with Rae Guest's filly (Serious Attitude) is solid, but we've beaten Alan Bailey's filly (Aspen Darlin) and so the form's in the book.

"We're a high-class filly and have got to go and do it. A lot of my fillies have improved from two to three over the years and she's one of them."