Eyes On Idaho

With the St Leger looming on the horizon, Michael Tabor's 'TDN Rising Star' Idaho (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) takes to York on Wednesday to cement his claims for the oldest Classic in the G2 Betway Great Voltigeur S. Third in the G1 Epsom Derby June 4 and runner-up in the Irish equivalent at The Curragh three weeks later, he sets the standard on both pieces of form but particularly on the latter, where he was just a half-length behind Harzand (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). “He's in good form. He's had a good break since the Irish Derby and is just ready to start again,” Aidan O'Brien said. “He should improve plenty for the run.”

Also from Ballydoyle is the July 7 G3 Bahrain Trophy winner Housesofparliament (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the July 27 G3 Gordon S. runner-up The Major General (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). “He's a very solid horse and is in good shape,” O'Brien said of the former. “He had a good run in Newmarket. He stays well and handles good ground.” Of The Major General, the trainer added, “He's in good form. He had a very good run in Goodwood and we think he is a horse that is still progressing.”

Forced to shoulder a three-pound penalty for his success in the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot June 17, Saeed Suhail's Across the Stars (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) is up against it on these terms but is a colt on the upgrade under the tutelage of seven-times Voltigeur winning trainer Sir Michael Stoute. “He is in good form. I hate running him with that penalty, but it's a race for him at this stage because I wanted to give him a good break after the King Edward,” he said, while the owner's racing manager Bruce Raymond added, “It was a bit of a relief to see him win at Ascot after everything went wrong in the Derby. It would be wrong to say that Michael was confident, but he thought he would go very close. He was certainly more confident than I was, though. He's working better than ever and has done well physically. You'd think he should be first or second on form. He's in the St Leger, but we'll see what happens here first.”