CHRISTOPHE SOUMILLON is expected to get the call to ride one of the Ballydoyle bankers at Royal Ascot next week by resuming his winning partnership with ante-post favourite Dylan Thomas in the Prince of Wales's Stakes on Wednesday.
With Aidan O'Brien's stable jockey
Kieren Fallon unable to ride in Britain as he awaits trial on charges of conspiracy to defraud,
Mick Kinane is poised to partner the cream of O'Brien's raiding party and is as short as 9-4 to be top jockey at the meeting.
However, it is French champion jockey Soumillon, who has won the Prix Ganay this year on Dylan Thomas among just a handful of rides he has had for Ballydoyle, who is set to partner the three-time Group 1 winner again.
Third under Johnny Murtagh in last year's Derby, Dylan Thomas wasan impressive winner of the Irish Derby and Irish Champion Stakes under Fallon who was unable to take the ride due to his British suspension when the Danehill colt was a disappointing fourth under Kinane in the Juddmonte International.
This season Seamus Heffernan has been in the plate on Dylan Thomas's two runs in Ireland including when second to Notnowcato in the Tattersalls Gold Cup last time.
O'Brien, who has also left Queen Anne-bound George Washington in the race, was due to discuss riding plans for the meeting with Coolmore boss John Magnier on Thursday night, and said: "Dylan Thomas is in good form and the plan is to run him on Wednesday."
Soumillon is likely to be able to take the ride on Dylan Thomas with doubts growing over the participation of top-class filly Mandesha in the Group 1 event.
The Princess Zahra Aga Khan's four-year-old had her entry confirmed on Thursday having worked with three others on the straight Les Reservoirs gallops at Chantilly in the morning.
However, her trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre said: "The filly is in good form and is well but I am not convinced we should go to Ascot.
"I just have a little doubt and possibly it is a little too early in the season to attack the class of horse we will find inthe Prince of Wales Stakes. Our alternative is to go for the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud the following Sunday."
The Prince of Wales's Stakes looks sure to be one of the highlights of the meeting even if Mandesha is absent.
The 11 possibles include Dylan Thomas's Curragh conqueror Notnowcato, Prix d'Ispahan winner Manduro and the winners of last year's Derby and Breeders' Cup Turf, Sir Percy and Red Rocks.
The last named's trainer Brian Meehan received a boost at Newbury on Thursday when he had his first winner for 24 days
His string has been suffering from a bug but he said of his stable star: "Red Rocks is one hundred per cent. He did his last piece of work this morning and we are really pleased with him."
There was one supplementary entry for the race, the ex-Italian colt Pressing for ?5,000, who will be having his first run for trainer Michael Jarvis.
The four-year-old will run in the colours of owner Gary Tanaka having finished second in the Group 1 Premio Presidente della Repubblica for trainer Roberto Feligioni last time.
Jarvis said: "He came here pretty much straight after he ran in Italy. He's a nice horse and what we have asked him to do he has done nicely. He has a bit to find on his form so far. He is a firm ground horse and ten furlongs seems to be his best trip.
"Mr Tanaka always likes to have a crack at these types of races and we will throw him in at the deep end so we can map out future plans, whether we have to lower our sights or go hunting abroad."
By RacingPost
