Parish heads Diamond Stakes field Parish Hall, winner of the 2011 Dewhurst for Jim Bolger, heads a field of eight in the Group Three Diamond Stakes at Dundalk on Friday evening. Having missed the whole of his three-year-old campaign, Parish Hall returned to win his first start this season and was last seen finishing fourth in the Irish Champion Stakes behind The Fugue. Aidan O'Brien is represented by Afonso De Sousa, third in the Acomb at York last year and winner of his only start to date this season. Gerard Butler sends Prince Alzain from his Newmarket base after finishing fourth in the September Stakes at Kempton. Prince Alzain has only ever won on an artificial surface, including a victory over Mark Johnston's Universal at Wolverhampton last August. "We'll see if he's a Polytrack specialist after this," said Butler. "I thought he ran well at Kempton in the September Stakes, but he was possibly just caught out by the distance. "He's very well and we're very happy with him and I think he's going to there with a good chance. I'd be fearful of Parish Hall, though, he's still a very good horse and will be tough to beat. We'll need to step up to beat him." Mick Halford is represented by both Opera Gloves and Certerach and said: "Opera Gloves won nicely at Killarney and ever since then we've been waiting for this race for her as she won her maiden at Dundalk. She's in good form. "With Certerach, he was just having his first run back in the Leger the other day and he looked a bit rusty and got quite tired. "He's a course and distance winner though, and he's come forward a good deal since then. The plan is to head back out to Dubai with him." The field is completed by the Tracy Collins-trained Captain Joy, Pat Prendergast's Manalapan while Willie Mullins runs Levanto who will be ridden by Pat Smullen.
