Astronaute aims for Rockingham pot El Astronaute is back on his travels to try to play up monthly winnings as the valuable Tote Rockingham Handicap takes centre stage on day one of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival at the Curragh. The six-year-old is one of two making the trip to Ireland from John Quinn’s North Yorkshire stable, as eight British contenders comprise almost half the 17-strong field in Thursday’s 125,000 euro five-furlong sprint. El Astronaute is top-weight — and having bounced back to form to win a Listed event at Cork two weeks ago, the son of Approve is sure to have plenty of supporters. Jim Bolger’s Smash Williams was a three-quarter-length runner-up at Cork, and reopposes in receipt of 2lb this time. Quinn also saddles Lord Riddiford, who won at Chelmsford on his penultimate start — while Scott Dixon’s Epsom Dash runner-up Dark Shot and the David Griffiths-trained Duke Of Firenze are other leading hopes making the trip across the Irish Sea. Hathiq failed to fire at Epsom but nonetheless leads the home team. Ardhoomey, Rapid Reaction and Nitro Boost also all appear to have solid claims.
