PAUL Cole is hoping to bridge a gap of 28 years to his last Irish classic success, Strategic Choice in the Irish St Leger, when he sends out Royal Scotsman for the Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas today (3.40).

“You’d have to have a good memory,” he laughed when asked about returning to the Curragh.

The Lambourn-based trainer has four classic wins to his name in Ireland, most notably doing a Derby double with Generous in 1991, at a time when he was prolific in classic races and Groups 1s around Europe. His last standard Group 1 win came 20 years ago when he took the Gold Cup with Mr Dinos.

Royal Scotsman went close to giving Cole another Group 1 when just touched off by Chaldean in the Dewhurst. After a fine effort to finish third to the same rival in the 2000 Guineas, he has a favourite’s chance today of giving his trainer a classic and Group 1 in one fell swoop at the Curragh.

Cole, who now operates under a joint licence with his son Oliver, was hopeful yesterday that he has found the key to success with the son of Gleneagles.

“He suffers a little bit from being exposed in his races early on, which makes him keen,” he told The Irish Field. “He was exposed the whole way at Newmarket, circumstantially I suppose, so he did very well to finish second.

“He just needs to settle. He has never been unfit, but if he settles then everything is fine. We’ve gone for the big settling jockey in Jamie Spencer so I think that could be it. The last time he really settled was in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood. He switched off and finished out his race and ended up breaking the track record.

“I think the Curragh will suit him really well. We’re coming over with a lot of hope. You have to have a good memory to remember my classic wins there before but you have to have the horse for the job and we think we have one in Royal Scotsman, he is a very good horse.”

You only have to go back to 2019 to find Jamie Spencer’s last Irish classic win, which came in this race on Phoenix Of Spain. In contrast Oisin Murphy is yet to ride a winner at the Curragh but he is hopeful of correcting that trend on Newmarket runner-up Hi Royal.

“Hi Royal apparently has come out of Newmarket very well,” Murphy told the Curragh press team yesterday. “I’ve a lot of respect for Royal Scotsman, who I just finished in front of in the 2000 Guineas but Hi Royal is a straightforward horse and I’m sure he’ll give his running.”

The aforementioned pair lead a strong British challenge that also includes Goffs Million winner Galeron, who was fourth at Newmarket, and Charyn who came home in eighth. Should any of the quartet score, it will be a third win for a British-trained winner in five years, and no wins for Aidan O’Brien since Churchill scored in 2017.

Paddington leads the Ballydoyle challenge but has plenty to find on ratings, and it may be Donnacha’s Proud And Regal who best represents the home team, now dropping back to a mile after finishing third to Derby hope Sprewell over 10 furlongs at Leopardstown.

AFTER an excellent run to finish third in the 1000 Guineas, which was her first start over a mile, Matilda Picotte drops in trip today for the Group 2 Betfred Nifty Fifty Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock (3.00).

The daughter of Sioux Nation was eight lengths back from Mawj and Tahiyra at Newmarket, having set a brisk tempo from the front and her trainer Kieran Cotter is confident she will be better served utilising her pace two furlongs back in trip.

“She has proper six-furlong pace,” Cotter said. “We’re the only filly in the race but she has taken on colts and geldings before. We get 3lb, which is probably not a whole lot, but we don’t see anything there to be totally afraid of. Of course we respect them but we’re not afraid of them.

Reflecting on her 1000 Guineas run, the Co Laois-based trainer added: “The mile at Newmarket is probably the only mile we would have run her over. She had form at the track and we knew she would handle it very well.

“The fillies’ race was almost four seconds faster than the colts’ and her time for the mile was faster than the winner of the 2000 Guineas the day before. Her second furlong was, I think, 11 seconds, so she did phenomenally well to hold on for third.”

Disappointing

Little Big Bear topped the market for the race yesterday evening and Aidan O’Brien’s colt is another dropping back in trip after running in the Guineas, albeit after a much more disappointing effort at Newmarket.

His trainer described the race as “a complete non-event” for the son of No Nay Never who may well be much more at home over today’s trip. He put up a devastating success in the six-furlong Group 1 Phoenix Stakes last season, a performance that saw him crowned European champion juvenile.