I feel sorry for Molly, he was so excited about his trip to York, and I hope that the rain does not destroy a good looking Ebor Festival?
Duke Of Marmalade a doubt
for York, says O'Brien
Will be bidding for fifth straight Group 1 win if he runs on Tuesday
HEAVY ground at York is causing Aidan O'Brien concern in the run-up to Tuesday's Juddmonte International and on Sunday the trainer said Duke Of Marmalade "has to be a doubt" for the race.
A decision on whether the King George winner will bid for his fifth consecutive Group 1 is likely on Monday once the Ballydoyle trainer has discussed the situationwith owners John Magnier and Michael Tabor.
On Sunday at Leopardstown O'Brien said: "The ground is heavy and very deep. He's in now, but he has to be a doubt."
"It's far from ideal and will be totally against him, but knowing the horse he is, the lads might let him run.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow (Monday) and make a decision."
Coral reported good support for second favourite New Approach on Sunday afternoon and cut him to 5-2 from 11-4, having been 3-1 in the morning. Ladbrokes eased Duke Of Marmalade to even money, while VCBet suspended betting on the race. New Approach is as short as 7-4 with Boylesports.
However, the likely testing conditions have not dampened the spirit of jockey Johnny Murtagh should Duke Of Marmalade take on New Approach.
"I always say a good horse can go on any ground. I'm a great believer in my horse, he's tough and he's genuine. Every time he goes, he's ready to give you 110%," said Murtagh.
"It's a very exciting race and I'm looking forward to it. It's aclash of the titans and the best horse will win on the day.
"As I have said before, he's a horse that will die for you. He can overcome difficulties and this is one thing that might not be in his favour.
"It's a very hot race, I respect them all but fear nothing in the race," the jockey told At The Races. Nine others are set to line up for the £550,000 contest, including the Henry Cecil-trained duo Multidimensional and Phoenix Tower, and dual 2,000 Guineas third Stubbs Art, representingDavid Elsworth.
Drying weather at York on Sunday and the success of the first stage of the venue's new drainage system combined to give clerk of the course William Derby encouragement that the Ebor meeting would start as planned.
A downpour early on Sunday morning turned the ground to heavy, but new drains installed alongside the track this year were working well and a lot of the rain that fell was being channelled via culverts into the nearby River Ouse.
Derby said: "We had 25mm of rainfall overnight on Saturday, much more than the forecasters had told us to expect, and the ground is heavy.
"The weather is beautiful now, though, sunny with fluffy white clouds, and that's a big help to us.
"The new drainage that's already been put in is working in our favour, too, because it's taking a lot of the water away, which can only be to our advantage."
Derby was in no mood to make predictions about the weather for the next few days, having seen the forecast for his part of Yorkshire prove so badly wrong over the weekend, but he was resolutely upbeat about the four-day fixture.
He said: "We're hoping that conditions will improve before the start of the meeting and we've already put plans in place to move the rails going round the home turnon Wednesday night, to ensure fresh ground on that bend from Thursday onwards."
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