Azamour Over Setback

John Oxx is happy for Azamour to take his chance in Sunday´s Tattersalls Gold Cup despite last season´s Irish Champion Stakes winner suffering a slight setback earlier in the week.

The Aga Khan´s colt returned from exercise with a slight stone bruise on Monday but he was sound the following day and was able to resume work.

Azamour is among a top-quality field of seven declared for the Group One contest over 10 and a half furlongs at the Curragh with Prix de l´Arc de Triomphe hero Bago and Irish Derby victor Grey Swallow also in the line-up.

'Azamour is very well. It was very minor as it turned out. He missed work on Tuesday - he only walked, but he was sound,' Oxx told At The Races.

'He just came in on Monday and took a lame step in the yard after exercise.

We had to take the shoe off and poulticed it. He was sound on Tuesday and cantered on Wednesday and he did a little bit of work on Thursday. He seems fine again.

'He´s a year older now and takes a little bit more work to get him ready but he´s been working well and seems in great shape.

'They´ve lengthened the race by half a furlong this year for the first time but that shouldn´t be a problem to him.

'He always finishes his races very well and he´s a horse that gets stronger and stronger the nearer he gets to the finish.'

Oxx is hoping it will be largely dry before Sunday.

Said the Currabeg trainer: 'The ground is OK at the moment. It´s what happens between now and Sunday that is the worry.

'The ground on the round part of the track is still fast ground with no jar.

The straight would be on the slow side of good. It´s obviously receptive to rain and there are a lot of showers forecast.

'We haven´t got any yet today. I guess it all depends how many showers come and how heavy they are.'

Oxx believes that French raider Bago, trained by Jonathan Pease, is the biggest threat.

'It´s a Group One race so you have to expect top-class opposition,' Oxx went on.

'They are all there and the French horse has the benefit of a previous run.

He´s race-fit and ready to go. He´ll be very hard to beat. I´m sure he´ll be favourite.

'Our horse is as fit as we can get him for his first run but naturally enough he´s not race-fit so he´ll be a little disadvantaged there.

'I´m not sure how fit Grey Swallow is but I suspect he´ll be in the same situation we´re in.'

Grey Swallow´s trainer Dermot Weld agreed.

'He´s in good form and I expect him to run a good race. Obviously with the ground and the wet spring he´s not quite as forward as I would like him but he´s as good as I can get him,' he said.

'It will be a smashing race but I do expect him to come on for the run.'

Bago will be accompanied by stable companion Imago Mundi, a likely pacemaker, while champion Irish trainer Aidan O´Brien runs Ace and Solskjaer.

Lone British raider Norse Dancer, trained by David Elsworth, completes the field.

? PA Sport