The Aidan O'Brien-trained Gstaad is odds-on favourite for Saturday's Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh, but Karl Burke is happy to take him on with Alparslan.
Starspangledbanner colt Gstaad claimed Group 1 glory on his final start at two in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar and resumed with a creditable second behind impressive winner Bow Echo in the Betfred 2000 Guineas earlier this month.
Beaten two and three-quarter lengths by George Boughey's charge on the Rowley Mile, Gstaad in turn finished eight lengths ahead of third home Distant Storm, and Charlie Appleby's colt is second-favourite for this weekend's Classic.
Fozzy Stack's Thesecretadversary finished fifth in the same race and Power Blue (Robson De Aguiar) was seventh. They also reoppose Gstaad this weekend, while away from the Newmarket form it is the Burke-trained Alparslan who is next in the market having made a successful start to his three-year-old campaign in last month's Greenham Stakes at Newbury.
The Middleham trainer said: "I think the key will be whether he stays. If he stays the mile well, then there's no reason why he shouldn't run a big race. I'm sure he'd be bang there at the furlong pole and then it'll be a question of how his stamina kicks in.
"He's in good shape, we're very happy with him and he'll love the ground. He's a course winner too so he's got a lot going for him and I'm looking forward to seeing him run."
Joseph O'Brien runs impressive Gowran maiden winner Go Just Do It, while Appleby has a second-string Pacific Avenue among the outsiders of the field and expected to help put some early pace into the race.
Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas
Paddy Power odds: 4/9 Gstaad, 4/1 Distant Storm, 8/1 Thesecretadversary, 12/1 Alparslan, 33/1 Power Blue, 40 Go Just Do It, 50 Bamako Beach, 66 Neolithic, Pacific Avenue, 100 Take Charge Star.
More from Sporting Life
- Free bets
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.