Great Minds finally gets his ground Improving sprinter Great Minds reappears in the Go Racing In Kildare Waterford Testimonial Stakes at the Curragh. The Bahamian Bounty colt made great strides earlier in the year when there was plenty of give in the ground, winning at Headquarters twice in fine style. Since then Great Minds has been stuck in his box, though, as a lack of rain has meant the majority of the Flat season has taken place on genuine good ground. That has forced Tommy Stack to take it steady with his charge, with planned outings in the Rockingham Handicap, the Wokingham and the Ayr Gold Cup all shelved due to a lack of juice in the ground. "We've just been waiting all summer for a bit of cut in the ground," said Fozzy Stack, assistant to his father. "We didn't get it before the Rockingham, before the Wokingham or the Ayr Gold Cup even, so to say it's been frustrating would hit the nail on the head. He's a very nice horse and too good to risk. "This is his last chance saloon really, there's nothing else for him after this. We've been really happy with him at home and before it dried up he looked like he was improving at a rate of knots." He will tackle some familiar faces like Mick Halford's Russian Soul, who was just behind Sir Maximilian last time out, while Eddie Lynam's Viztoria is on something of a retrieval mission having performed poorly in the Prix Maurice de Gheest. This represents a big drop in class, however. Halford feels Russian Soul will be better suited to the extra furlong this weekend. The trainer said: "I'd like to see the ground dry out a bit more but he's still working really well at home. He's better over six, I've always thought." There is only one British-trained runner surprisingly, James Tate's Ruwaiyan, who was fourth in the Stewards' Cup and sixth in the Ayr Gold Cup last time out. Andy Slattery's An Saighdiur and Jim Bolger's unexposed Flight Risk are others with a chance on the official figures.
