Galway on agenda if Accordion Etoile can repeat Tipperary win

Anita Chambers
Friday 08 July 2005 19:00 EDT
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Accordion Etoile, fourth in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, was last seen in action when sixth in the Aintree Hurdle in April.

Nolan expects him to be fit enough to do himself justice and said: "He's the highest-rated horse in the race, but there are some decent handicappers in there and Ansar is a good horse when he is in form. Our horse is in good shape and this is a race we have been looking at for a while. We gave him a break, then brought him back in in plenty of time, and he has been cantering away for six or seven weeks now. He seems in good form and the ground will be perfect."

He added: "We will see how he runs before making any plans. Galway is a possibility, but we want to see how he comes out of this race before deciding on any targets."

Accordion Etoile will face eight rivals including Dermot Weld's Ansar, winner of last year's Galway Plate, and Charlie Swan's Anno Jubilo, who warmed up for the race with a win on the Flat at Leopardstown last Saturday.

The connections of Camacho have admitted to being baffled by the disappointing showing of the colt in the July Cup at Newmarket on Thursday. Plans are on hold for the three-year-old after he could finish only 10th to Pastoral Pursuits in the Group One sprint.

"Nothing has appeared yet. It's just a bit puzzling," said Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to the colt's owner, Khalid Abdullah. "There are no plans for him at the moment." Thursday's race was only the fifth start of his career as the son of Danehill cracked a bone in his knee after finishing third on his second start at Doncaster last September.

* Francis Norton was suspended for one day (19 July) after being found guilty of careless riding on Spence Appeal in the claiming stakes at Wolverhampton yesterday.

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