It is Friday morning in Dublin. I arrived at the Irish capital yesterday half past noon. It is a 55-minute flight from London to Dublin. From Paddington station, the Heathrow Express takes a little over 15 minutes. I went through security in London and when I showed my passport before entering the boarding area, I was told that a photo (a new requirement for passengers on domestic flights and to Ireland) had not been taken. An agent took me to the picture-taking station. The walk to the gate took 10 minutes. I made it before the gate was closed. The agent was apologetic.

Moments after I arrived at Dublin, the rain began. It was cold, it was wet and the skies promised more rain. Later in the day, the skies continued to be overcast but the rain stayed away. Curragh is 50 miles from the Dublin City Centre and there had been copious amounts of rain in Kildare County (where the Curragh is located) from early Thursday morning. There was no racing at the Curragh on Thursday. Fairyhouse, a course very close to Dublin, had a twilight card on Thursday.

It is cloudy as I type this Friday morning. There is a drizzle. The Curragh must be soft because of the rain on Thursday. No official description of the going will be announced until after inspection on Friday. The good news is that the forecast for the weekend is encouraging. Curragh’s Derby festival begins today. There is a seven-race card beginning at 6 PM and ending at 9 PM. Eight fillies go postward in the Saoire Stakes, a listed race. Shimah, to be ridden by Declan McDonogh, and Chintz, to be handled by Jihn Murtagh, are the two better fancied ones. They were debut winners.

There are seven races on Saturday. The first race is 2.10 PM. The feature is the Pretty Polly Stakes. Finsceal Beo, from Jim Bolger’s yard, is the favourite. Lush Lashes, winner of Royal Ascot’s Coronation Stakes, has been withdrawn.

On Sunday, there are eight races and the action gets underway at 1.30 PM. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby is to be run at 3.45 PM and it is the fifth race.
New Approach, the Epsom winner, is an odds-on choice to duplicate his feat. The projection is that New Approach will be half money and lower. Since 2000, there have been three odds-on favourites in the Irish Derby. High Chapparal won it in 2002. Dalakhani was beaten in 2003 by his stablemate, Alamshaar. In 2004, Grey Swallow lowered the colours of North Light.

There is considerable interest generated by proposition bets offered by Irish bookmakers. You get 100-30 if New Approach’s win is by a length and less. You will get 4-1 for a more than three-length win for the favourite. It is 33-1 for New Approach to beat Tartan Bearer by one half length, the Epsom Derby margin.

In news coming out of Ballydoyle, John Murtagh has chosen to ride Alessandro Volta in the Derby on Sunday. Murtagh put all five O’Brien runners through their paces. Murtagh said, “I was aboard all five horses. I feel that Alessandro Volta will be best suited to the Curragh.”

Seamus Heffernan rides Frozen Fire. Heffernan won the 2007 Irish Derby with Soldier Of Fortune. Colm O’Donoghue will be aboard Washington Irvng. Hindu Kush will be handled by David McCabe and Bashkirov will be ridden by Seanie Leavy.

I am debating whether to attend the Friday meeting at the Curragh. Especially if there is rain, things will be a lot harder. I need to go to Bussaras, the central bus depot in Dublin. From Bussaras, it is a ride that approximately takes an hour. The return bus leaves 15 minutes after the last race.

There is daylight in Dublin until 10 PM. I was at Paddy Power, a betting shop, to watch the action on Thursday evening. Races were shown from Churchill Downs in Louisville. In the morning, the day breaks at 4 AM.

Here is news from America. One of trainer Richard Dutrow’s horses has tested positive for a prohibited substance. He has been suspended for 15 days.

Jockey Jeremy Rose rode Afllet Alex to victories in the 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes. He has been given a six-month suspension for abusing the whip. The incident took place on June 23 at Delaware Park. Rose was charged with engaging in extreme misuse of the whip during the stretch run on Appeal To The City in the third race. Jockey Rose will be liable for charges incurred treating the horse. He has been asked to take an ‘anger management’ course. Rose’s request for ‘stay’ was denied and the appeal will be heard in the second part of July.

On Saturday, the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup will be run. This is the race that Lava Man won three years running. Heatseeker is the 7-5 morning line favourite. Heatseeker has won the Santa Anita handicap and the Californian over Hollywood’s polytrack this year. There are seven graded winners in the ten-horse field.

Big Brown suffered because of a dislodged show in his right hind foot and that is what stopped him in the Belmont Stakes. Pictures released offer strong evidence. Ian McKinlay, the hoof specialist who treated Big Brown before the Belmont Stakes, stated, “For Big Brown to run the entire race with the shoe dislodged and the nail srill in, had to cause some havoc.”

Mike Iavarone, of the IEAH Stables, has expressed his belief that the dislodged shoe caused Big Brown’s failure.