O’Brien duo boast plethora of Irish contenders

Aidan O'Brien and his son, Joseph, hold a combined nine entries for 's Irish 2,000 Guineas at the .

O'Brien Snr is one of the greatest trainers of all time and has won the Irish no less than 11 times, with his first success coming in 1997 when Christy Roche guided Desert to glory.

The 50-year-old's most recent success came in 2017, leading Churchill to glory on that day, and the best chance for a 12th victory on Friday appears to be Armory, who picked up wins at both Group Two and Three level last term.

Also representing the Ballydoyle handler at this stage are Vatican City, Royal Lytham, Fort Myers, , Monarch Of Egypt and Lope Y Fernandes, who tasted success at the Curragh twice in 2019 over 7f and 6f.

O'Brien Jnr, Joseph, who has never won the Irish 2,000 Guineas, has two to choose from in Choice Of Mine and the unbeaten Crossfirehurricane, who made it three consecutive victories when landing a Listed event on the all-weather at Dundalk in February.

Although the 15-runner field is largely dominated by the O'Briens, Ger Lyons' Siskin looks like the one to beat after he won each of his four starts last term, culminating in the Group One Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh.

As for the remaining runners, 's hopes come in the shape of Free Solo, Michael Holland is represented by Sinawann, Andrew Slattery saddles Rebel Tale while Jim Bolger has two charges, Agitare and Fiscal Rules.

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