AIDAN O'BRIEN'S mob-handed approach to Newmarket's £150,000 Group 1 Middle Park Stakes is not guaranteed to bring success because there are plenty of useful English hopefuls capable of slugging it out with his quartet of Irish raiders.

Tomahawk, Irrawaddy, Miguel Cervantes and Ontario all make the journey over from Ballydoyle, and while it would it be folly to dismiss any of those four high-class juveniles, I prefer to take an each-way stab on one of the members of the home team, Sir Albert (2.50).

Sir Albert won like a really decent sprinter in the making when he destroyed his rivals with a devastating late burst in the Listed Costcutter Stakes at York's Ebor meeting.

He then let his supporters down badly in the Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster where, in a rare error of judgement, Frankie Dettori appeared to overdo the waiting tactics.

With Frankie claimed to ride David Loder's Country Reel, Olivier Peslier, who gave Sir Albert such a brilliant ride on the Knavesmire, is happily re-united with Jeremy Noseda's colt.

A potential outsider worthy of consideration is Chico Guapo (1.15) in the opening Cowlinge Nursery.

The selection blitzed out of the stalls at Southwell on his most recent outing and was only caught in the dying strides by Alan Berry's Frascati. That was an improved performance from Chico Guapo, who looks nailed on to shed his maiden tag before long.

Peter Makin is not mucking around with Give Back Calais (3.25), whipped out for the seven-furlong £18,000 Showcase Handicap just five days after finishing fifth in a valuable race at Ascot.

Give Back Calais ran a blinder at the Berkshire course, considering his wide draw in stall number 23 meant he started fairly adjacent to the nearby M3. And don't forget either that Makin's horses are beginning to fly after a mainly torrid season to date.

The closing 24-runner five-furlong handicap is an absolute minefield as far as punters are concerned.

Three of the northern challengers, Noble Nick, Mr Spliffy, and Matty Tun (4.30), all represent good-value each-way bets.

Preference is marginally for the latter, trained near Doncaster by John Balding. Balding's sprinters are in excellent form which, combined with the fact that Matty Tun is at his best on testing tracks such as Newmarket, just gives him the nod.

* Mark Johnston's Love Regardless and Bouncing Bowdler both tackle the Group Three Grosser Preis der Landeshauptstadt Dusseldorf on Sunday.

Keith Dalgleish and Joe Fanning are the respective riders of the Middleham pair in the extended mile race run at Dusseldorf.

Love Regardless has already tasted German Group success in the summer, and was a close fourth on his last start at Cologne.

The three-year-old made the running in the Group Two Oppenheim Rennen last month, only to be caught close home and beaten just over half a length.

Peppercorn (fifth), Sambaprinz (sixth), Pardus (seventh), Up And Away (ninth) and Bear King (last of ten), all renew rivalry with Love Regardless.

* Japanese challenger Manhattan Cafe is reported to be bang on target for Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.

The four-year-old Japanese star was put through his paces ahead of the race at Chantilly yesterday and connections were satisfied with his work.

Manhattan Cafe's last run came in April, when he won the Grade One Tenno Sho in Japan, and he has two other Grade One successes to his credit last year.

Patrick Barbe, racing manager to owner Ken Nishikawa, reported the Sunday Silence colt to be in good order after his morning spin.

He said: ''Manhattan Cafe has worked on Les Reservoirs gallop with his regular work rider.

''He was joined by one other horse and finished the gallop really fast.

"Ideally he'd prefer a little rain before the race."

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