Cavalryman Heading to Germany Not Ireland This Weekend

It looks almost certain that this week's feature, the Group 1 Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, will be run without the sole Godolphin entrant Cavalryman after connections decided to take the apparently easier route of heading to mainland Europe.

Saeed bin Suroor's four-year-old colt seems likely to head to Germany for the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden over a mile-and-a-half, rather than go into battle with up to five Aidan O'Brien contenders as well as strong challengers from Britain. The Irish racing tips certainly suggested he was in for a tough time.  

The winner of last year's Grand Prix de Saint Cloud, Cavalryman ran a fabulous race to be beaten little more than three lengths into third in last term's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe behind the mighty Sea The Stars and had been expected to be a leading contender for middle-distance honours in Europe this season. After failing to land a blow in two races in Dubai during the winter, (including the Sheema Classic), the Halling colt had been well below par at both Epsom and Royal Ascot, before running a much better race when fourth to Rip Van Winkle in the Juddmonte International Stakes at York last month. Anyone looking for racing tips for today may want to think long and hard about backing him.

However, connections have shied away from another battle with his York conqueror and clearly feel that Cavalryman has better prospects of landing another Group 1 victory in Germany, over a trip that is viewed as his optimum by seasoned race watchers. A good run at Baden Baden would pave the way for a repeat challenge at Longchamp in October.