Chimes At Midnight, trained by the Co Meath builder and permit holder Luke Comer, will make an audacious attempt at Grade One glory when he takes on Godolphin`s Fantastic Light and the best American grass horses in tonight`s Turf Classic at Belmont Park.
Comer`s charge has been a revelation since Being bought out of Aidan O`Brien`s stable for £46,000 during the summer, finishing third in the English St Leger and being just beaten by Chiang-Mai in the Blandford Stakes on his last start.
But Chimes At Midnight, who will be ridden by Seamus Heffernan, now has the toughest assignment he has ever faced, in a race that has fallen to European-trained horses just three times in the 1990s.
Fantastic Light won the Man O`War Stakes over the New York course and distance last month and again tackles the Michael Jarvis-trained El Athena, who was a length second on that occasion. Britain`s other representative is Commander Collins.
The home team includes Val`s Prince, who won the race in 1997 and 1999 as well as the ex-Henry Cecil-trained Subtle Power, who is now handled by Bill Mott.
Another Irish horse scheduled to appear at Belmont is Joanna Morgan`s One Won One, who is being lined up for tomorrow`s $250,000 Kelso Handicap over a mile, but there is more Irish interest before that when Aidan O`Brien saddles both Honours List (Mick Kinane) and Kings County (Olivier Peslier) for the Group One Grand Criterium at Longchamp tomorrow afternoon.
The O`Brien-trained Ciro picked up this race in the stewards` room last year, and the Ballydoyle pair have just five opponents tomorrow, although they include the Coventry Stakes winner, Cd Europe.
O`Brien and Kinane have black type priorities before that, however, as they combine for the first start of Ishiguru in today`s listed Entrepreneur Stakes at Cork. The course executive could hardly have imagined they would have to compete with a replayed All-Ireland final, but the rumour mill would have us believe the first appearance of Ishiguru is something to relish.
The fact that Kinane rides the Danzig colt in preference to the 105-rated fillies Dietrich and Little Firefly, never mind Keats, is significant in itself, and O`Brien said yesterday: 'He`s a very smart horse who was ready to run earlier in the season but coughed.'
The Navan card features a chase in praise in Danoli, and the horse himself will parade before the event. The best bet of the day, however, could be in the opener, where Noel Meade`s Sigma Dotcomm takes on the smart flat horse Just Wondering and the decent bumper performer Aunt Aggie.
Sigma Dotcomm was a decent bumper horse himself, though, when beating Supreme Schemer at Punchestown last winter and, with Barry Geraghty on board, looks worth a reasonable bet.
Tomorrow`s Punchestown fixture sees the second start of the highly-rated Saor Theas in the novice hurdle. Christy Roche`s horse would not like the ground to turn very soft, but if he is to justify Roche`s expectations, Saor Theas at the very least has to go close.
A decision on whether Godolphin will supplement Noverre for the Darley Dewhurst Stakes will not be announced until this morning. The Rahy colt, trained at Evry by David Loder, was partnered by Frankie Dettori in a workout yesterday.
Diana Cooper, racing manager to Godolphin France, said yesterday: 'No decision will be made until after discussions with Sheikh Mohammed tonight.'
Noverre has been the one major success of Godolphin`s two-year-old operation this season, winning the Group Three TNT July Stakes at Newmarket and the Group Two thehorsesmouth.co.uk Champagne Stakes at Doncaster last month.
He would have to be supplemented by midday today at a cost of £15,000 for the Dewhurst, which is sponsored by Sheikh Mohammed`s Darley Stud.
