Magical could miss Enable clash to take in Tattersalls Gold Cup instead

Magical remains one of ten entries for Aidan O'Brien in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on Sunday and the master trainer said it is possible she could show up there rather than tackle Enable again in the King George a day earlier, although a final decision will not be made until Wednesday.

The Tattersalls Gold Cup, usually part of the Guineas fixture in May, is notorious for its small fields, but recent trends look like they will be altered on Sunday after 21 horses remained in the Group 1 at Tuesday's five-day forfeit stage.

There were just five runners in the race on five occasions in the last decade, while Al Kazeem beat three rivals when winning the race for the first time in 2013.

Magical won the five-runner event last year by seven lengths at odds of 2-7, but is likely to face a much bigger field and sterner competition if that is the route O'Brien chooses for her this weekend.

Tattersalls Gold Cup card

O'Brien said: "It's possible Magical could wait for the Tattersalls Gold Cup on Sunday, but not definite. Everything is up in the air at the moment and we will make plans for everything on Wednesday, including what jockeys we might use at Ascot on Saturday. All the horses will do their last main piece of work on Wednesday morning."

Sovereign: entered for the King George and Tattersalls Gold CupCredit: Patrick McCann

Last year's Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck remains a possible for the Tattersalls Gold Cup, as does runaway 2019 Irish Derby victor Sovereign, while Japan, Magic Wand and Tiger Moth were others to be left in the race by O'Brien.

O'Brien, unsurprisingly, is the most successful trainer in the race's history with eight victories and the biggest challenge to him making that nine could come from the Kevin Prendergast-trained Madhmoon.

The Hughie Morrison-trained Telecaster is the sole British-based entry, while last year's runaway Irish St Leger winner Search For A Song also remains in the race.

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