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Camelot exits Irish Derby in good order, St Leger next Aidan O'Brien gave Camelot a clean bill of health on Sunday following his success in Saturday night's Group 1 Irish Derby. The conditioner also reiterated that the Group 1 St Leger is the next target for the unbeaten son of Montjeu. While a decision on a prep for the September 15 Doncaster classic has yet to be made, there is almost certain to be no clash with Frankel on the cards in the interim. "Camelot seems fine this morning and ate up well," O'Brien told PA Sport. "Obviously the St Leger is the race we're looking at and he'll either have a racecourse gallop or a race in between. We will do the same after all the big races and wait a week before sitting down to discuss what will happen. "To be honest, there aren't that many options between now and then. The Group 1 Juddmonte International at York (on August 22) wouldn't be an ideal prep for the St Leger, as he'd be coming back to a mile and a quarter -- he is a strong traveler and we worked hard at getting him to settle." O'Brien also had news of the Galileo fillies Was and Maybe, who were scratched from Sunday's Group 1 Pretty Polly at The Curragh. "Was will run in the Group 1 Irish Oaks (at The Curragh on July 22) next. Maybe will run next in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket later this month (on July 13)." Ballydoyle's recent Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes scorer So You Think is set for Saturday's Group 1 Eclipse at Sandown, while Imperial Monarch, who was scratched from the Irish Derby, is being aimed at the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp on July 14. Born to Sea has the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes as his main target following his Irish Derby heroics, trainer John Oxx announced Sunday. Beaten two lengths by Camelot in the 12-furlong classic, the Tsui homebred son of Invincible Spirit has opened up a series of options at middle-distances and connections are thinking of the 10-furlong contest on September 8 at Leopardstown. "I'm delighted with him and every time he runs, he runs better than the previous time so is finding his way now," Oxx said. "I thought he had Camelot for a while and so did Johnny (Murtagh), but in the last 50 to 100 yards the ground just bottomed him out. He gets a mile and a half on normal, but was just flagging a little bit at the end on that and has run a great race. "He is beginning to make his own mark and is very tough, genuine and very adaptable. He takes his races very well and improves race-to-race, so he's heading in the right direction and a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half is ideal. Maybe the Irish Champion Stakes would be his next objective and whether he runs or not beforehand, I don't know." Oxx also expressed satisfaction with the effort of Akeed Mofeed, who was fourth in his belated seasonal return. "He came out of it fine and was in good shape this morning," Oxx said of the Dubawi colt. "He just blew up -- he got as far as the two pole and that was it. It is an unusual thing to give a horse a prep race in a Derby, but we had to get him out and the owner was game to run him. On heavy ground like that, it was asking a lot." The Curragh's General Manager Paul Hensey was taking a positive stance on the repositioning of the Irish Derby to be run on Saturday evening, suggesting it could become a regular feature. Switched from Sunday afternoon, the race helped draw an increased crowd on 12 months ago despite the rain. "I think the crowd figure was 23,211, which is about 500 up on last year's Derby meeting," Hensey said. "I think, considering the inclement weather and everything, that has to go down as a success as there is no doubt the weather had an effect on the number of walk-ups we got on the day. There were people seven or eight-deep around the parade ring before the race and I stood on the track watching the grandstands just before the off and you could sense the tension, as nobody wanted to see (Camelot) get beat. Everyone had heard Aidan's reservations about the ground, but thankfully he won and it was obviously a great result. "It is something we'll obviously have to review further down the line with our team and later on the board, but my recommendation would be that we stick to the same plan for next year." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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