Mastercraftsman challenges for Guineas favouritism The prospect of testing ground has persuaded punters to strongly support Mastercraftsman for tomorrow's Boylesports.com Irish 2,000 Guineas, and Aidan O'Brien is confident the conditions at the Curragh will not hinder his chances. The Danehill Dancer colt was available at 7/2 earlier this week but has been cut to around 9/4 on betfair, with Delagator drifting out to 5/2. He was far from disgraced when fifth on his reappearance in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, and is fancied to reverse placings with runner-up Delegator. O'Brien believes there should be improvement to come from that effort, saying: 'The ground is not ideal for any horse but Mastercraftsman won two Group 1's last year - one on firm ground and one on heavy ground - so he is a very versatile horse.' 'It's not ideal, but we are hoping he will be okay on it. He's well and we've been happy with him since Newmarket. All the horses have been improving from their first runs, so we're hoping that is the case with Master.' Mastercraftsman is one of four O'Brien contenders for the Group One contest, with Drumbeat, Hail Caesar and Viceroy Of India all lining up for Ballydoyle. 'Hail Caesar is a horse we have always liked. He ran in a Group One last year and ran well and has ran in two trials this year and ran well, so he is in good form and we're hoping that he runs well,' O'Brien told At The Races. 'The word is that Delegator should handle the ground so obviously that is good for Delegator, and a worry for us.' Brian Meehan's Delegator heads the eight rivals to Mastercraftsman, and the impressive Craven Stakes is joined by fellow British raider Soul City. John Oxx saddles the unbeaten Rayeni, Jim Bolger is represented by Fergus McIver while Kevin Prendergast's Recharge completes the line-up with O'Brien's Westphalia, Godolphin inmate Ashram and Bolger's Dewhurst hero Intense Focus all notable absentees. Kevin Prendergast admits he would prefer faster conditions for his candidate Recharge, but reports the colt to be in fine form. 'He couldn't be better, but we could have done with a bit better ground for him as it's been raining heavily here, practically non-stop,' the trainer told At The Races. 'The ground is going to be very testing and holding - it was good to fast ground when he won at Leopardstown the last day. He's a smart horse, we're hoping for a big run and we hope the ground doesn't kill him. I think the horse of John Oxx's (Rayeni) has won twice on testing ground, so he looks like he will handle the ground well.' John Oxx's Rayeni is unbeaten after two juvenile starts, with jockey Mick Kinane looking forward to the ride. 'He needs soft ground, and it's going to be just about bordering raceable,' Kinane told At The Races. 'Very few people will have encountered conditions as tough as they are going to encounter this weekend. In fairness to him, he came through and won his two starts last year, and John (Oxx) had prepared him for a tilt at the Guineas trial, but he had a setback.' 'He was on the easy list for a while but, thankfully, he has come good at a time when he was needed. I know my horse is going to handle the conditions, but we don't know if he is a Group One horse.'
