CAUSEWAY HEADS 14 LEFT IN QEII A total of 14 horses headed by Giant`s Causeway have been left in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes following today`s confirmation stage. Aidan O`Brien`s colt, dubbed the 'iron horse', will be bidding for his sixth consecutive Group One victory in Saturday`s race. The Ballydoyle trainer also has Lermontov and Manhattan in the one-mile contest, which carries a total prize fund of #320,000. Godolphin, who won the 1999 QEII with the brilliant Dubai Millennium, have supplemented Best Of The Bests at a cost of #25,000. The Dubai team also have Diktat and Bachir, who beat Giant`s Causeway in the Irish 2000 Guineas, still in the Ascot feature. Almushtarak, beaten eight lengths into second place by Dubai Millennium 12 months ago, has also had his entry confirmed by trainer Kamil Mahdi. Indian Lodge, who gave trainer Amanda Perrett her first Group One victory when winning the Emirates Prix du Moulin on soft going at Longchamp earlier this month, is another on course for Ascot. 'The ground is OK for him there at the moment but the more rain the better for him,' Mrs Perrett said. 'We are hoping Cash Asmussen (who rode the colt at Longchamp) or Mick Kinane will ride but I suppose Mick will be on Giant`s Causeway. 'I have been very pleased with Indian Lodge since Longchamp. He worked well yesterday morning and I`m looking forward to him running on Saturday.' The going at Ascot is currently described as good to firm, good in places. One entry not certain to be in the line-up is Distant Music. The Barry Hills-trained colt was one of last season`s leading two-year-old`s with wins in the Champagne and Dewhurst Stakes to his credit but lost his form this spring. However, he returned to somewhere near his best with a neck success over another of Saturday`s entries Valentino at Doncaster last time. Teddy Beckett, racing manager to Distant Music`s owner Khaled Abdullah, said: 'There is no decision yet. We are looking at various options for him at the moment. 'The horse has been fine since Doncaster - no problems.' Distant Music`s owner also has Observatory in the race. Clive Brittain is aiming Crimplene at Ascot. The filly has already won three Group Ones this season including the Coronation Stakes over course and distance at the Royal meeting. Queen Elizabeth II Stakes entries: Almushtarak (K Mahdi); Diktat (Saeed bin Suroor); Indian Lodge (Mrs A Perrett); Golden Silca (M Channon); Bachir (Saeed bin Suroor); Best Of The Bests (Saeed bin Suroor); Distant Music (B Hills); Giant`s Causeway (A O`Brien, Ireland); Lermontov (A O`Brien, Ireland); Manhattan (A O`Brien, Ireland); Medicean (Sir Michael Stoute); Observatory (J Gosden); Valentino (J Gosden) and Crimplene (C Brittain).
