Master of Hounds to Ship to Churchill Downs on May 3

Popular American racing news site Paulickreport.com is confirming that Aidan O'Brien intends to ship Master of Hounds (Kingmambo) into Churchill Downs on May 3 with the intention of running him in the 2011 Kentucky Derby. Only a nose separated him from the impressive Godolphin runner Khawlah (Cape Cross) in the 2011 UAE Derby that ran at Meydan Racecourse on the Dubai World Cup undercard.

Master of Hounds delivered a rousing performance against a globetrotting array of international talent on UAE Derby day and many suspect that he is shipping across the pond thanks to the stranglehold that Frankel (Galileo) appears to have over the upcoming 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby.

With the shock loss of Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, combined with the gloss coming off a significant amount of American Derby favourites in recent weeks, Master of Hounds will instantly become a factor in the betting markets for the 2011 Kentucky Derby.

Despite some very encouraging performances in his two-year-old campaign, Master of Hounds has only a single victory to his name – a 7f maiden score at Tipperary from last July. This will be his dirt debut and observers would struggle to find a tougher dirt race to get involved in first time out.

Master of Hounds is closely-related to Japan Cup winner (and Arc De Triomphe-placed) El Condor Pasa (Kingmambo) and is bred on the same highly-rated Kingmambo/Saddler's Wells cross. While there is plenty of turf in his pedigree, there is definitive proof that connections have reason to believe this contender could make a big splash on dirt.

Master of Hounds is currently floating around 20.0 on the Betfair exchange.