Look Here's impressive success certainly gives hope to some of the lesser-fancied entries in today's great race though not to the Yorkshire-trained Maidstone Mixture, generally a 1,000-1 chance and odds-on to finish stone last.

The Paul Murphy-trained colt is the only one of the 17 entries whose connections would not be entertaining any thoughts of winning and yesterday's fillies' classic proved that a fast-improving type can fool most of the pundits.

Today's event looks wide open despite the betting suggesting the winner will come from the first half-dozen in the market and the likes of Kandahar Run, Washington Irvine and Frozen Fire are all capable of producing the goods.

There is no doubt the Irish have a very strong hand with New Approach and Casual Conquest at the head of the betting though Luca Cumani's Curtain Call and the Sir Michael Stoute trio of Tartan Bearer, Tajaweed and Docor Fremantle all have their supporters.

The latter's second to Look Here in a Salisbury maiden last October has certainly been franked, but Ryan Moore has chosen Dante winner Tartan Bearer and recent statistics show that the York Group 2 is the race to take before Epsom glory.

Another major trial is the Derrinstown Stud Stakes at Leopardstown. Aidan O'Brien has used this event in the past for Derby winners High Chaparral and Galileo. This time around it was Washington Irving who carried the flag for Ballydoyle, but he had no answer to a brilliant performance from Casual Conquest, who stormed home by six lengths despite running green.

Dermot Weld's colt has had two runs in his life, but his effort at Leopardstown stamped him as a colt of potential. Weld has persuaded the owners to fork out a huge supplementary sum in order to run and I believe his optimism will be justified.

Jim Bolger's Lush Lashes ran well enough yesterday, but it is New Approach who has always been the stable star, a horse whose runs in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Curragh stamp him as a top-class performer. The Irish may have played second fiddle yesterday, but Casual Conquest and New Approach can fight out the finish of what is still the most prestigious prize in the world.