With Authorized waiting for next Saturday's Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, the door is left open for Eagle Mountain to take the Irish Derby at the Curragh today. With Sunday Grandstand axed, the Irish Derby will not be shown on terrestrial television for the first time for about 40 years - proof once more that horse racing is low on the list of BBC sporting priorities. The viewing figures for the BBC's coverage of the five-day Royal Ascot meeting were very disappointing. The mix of racing, fashion and extra light-hearted inputs simply did not work. Clare Balding's heavy-handed style did not help but Willie Carson's contribution was embarrassing. After the first race he told everyone the Aussie sprinters could not win the next race because they would not like the soft ground, ignoring that the opening race of the meeting had been run in record time! Eagle Mountain, runner-up behind Authorized at Epsom beaten five lengths, should give Aidan O'Brien his fourth success in his domestic Derby in the last eight years. Johnny Murtagh was aboard at Epsom, Kieren Fallon can take the ride today - he is not banned in Ireland. Aidan O'Brien runs four compared to his eight at Epsom. Mark Johnston runs his Royal Ascot winner Boscobel, again ridden by Joe Fanning, as Frankie Dettori misses the ride due to a ban not being delayed thanks to an oversight. Authorized attempts to follow in Nashwan's step and complete the Epsom Derby/Eclipse double in the same year. Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud bought him after Epsom and the idea of running over 10 furlongs against older horses at Sandown, rather than a re-match with Eagle Mountain and company, is to hopefully increase his stud value. Aidan O'Brien plans to run four against him at Sandown headed by last year's outstanding Group 1 performer George Washington. He made a satisfactory return to action after a barren spell at stud when fourth in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot. He has yet to prove he is as good over a mile-and-a-quarter as he was over a mile last year. Racing isn't out of the woods yet after the floods. If the forecasters are right, more meetings in the first half of this week could be lost while Southwell's all-weather track is threatened. Covered by four feet of water, the Fibresand surface will almost certainly have been washed away by the floods. | 
