Sport : Horse Racing

ABBEY MOUNTS MOORESBRIDGE CHALLENGE

6th May 2012, 05:41pm

Sharestan: The main danger

Sharestan: The main danger

Breeders' Cup winner St Nicholas Abbey will face six rivals on his return to European action in the High Chaparral EBF Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh on Monday.

Aidan O'Brien's charge won the Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs in November and narrowly failed to catch Cirrus Des Aigles in the Dubai Sheema Classic on his last outing.

The Ballydoyle handler has stated recently that the five-year-old is only just showing the brilliance he had promised in his early days after it all went wrong for him in the 2000 Guineas back in 2010.

O'Brien has won the last two renewals of the Group Three with Fame And Glory and So You Think.

His main rival would appear to be John Oxx's Sharestan.

An easy winner of the Irish Lincolnshire on just the third start of his career, he was considered by many to be an unlucky loser when beaten a head by Famous Name at Leopardstown most recently.

Sharestan is owned by the Aga Khan and his racing manager Pat Downes said: "We're looking forward to it. It will be very interesting to see how he gets on against a high-class horse like St Nicholas Abbey.

"It will certainly tell us more about him.

"I think the extra two furlongs should really be in his favour. He finished really strongly over a mile last time out at Leopardstown

"He still looked a bit green and ran a bit free that day, too.

"He ran well though, it's very hard to beat Famous Name at Leopardstown in those conditions.

"He should run well."

Jessica Harrington's Bob Le Beau has some decent form to his name while O'Brien also runs Robin Hood and Windsor Palace.

Elusive Ridge and Parkers Mill complete the field.

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