'I'm delighted to get the opportunity' - jockey set for first Classic spin after being called up to take on Gstaad in Irish 2,000 Guineas

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Sam James is set for his first Classic spin in Saturday's Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas having been called up to partner the Karl Burke-trained Alparslan, who earned his crack at the Curragh Group 1 with a decisive success in the Greenham last month.

Burke has enjoyed some hugely successful raids in Ireland in recent years, saddling eight winners from 37 runners over the last three seasons. Three of them have come at the top level, including a Classic courtesy of Fallen Angel in the Irish 1,000 Guineas in 2024, and he's accumulated more than €1.6 million in prize-money when crossing the Irish Sea in that time.

Alparslan provided a decent portion of that haul when he bolted up in the €250,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes at the Curragh in September, and he'll return to the scene of that triumph in the first Irish Classic of the season to take on Gstaad and Distant Storm, who were second and third in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.