All-star Eclipse showdown up in the air as White Birch team play waiting game before City Of Troy duel

White Birch has been a revelation this season with John Murphy’s stable star lowering the colours of Epsom/Irish Derby hero Auguste Rodin last time out in the Group One Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.

The fact that Auguste Rodin subsequently went on to land the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot highlights the stunning form of White Birch even more with a tasty duel possibly in the offing this weekend.

City Of Troy bounced back to his brilliant best to land the Epsom Derby on his last start after an English 2,000 Guineas flop and Aidan O’Brien’s star three-year-old is a warm-order favourite to take the Sandown Group One.

White Birch would be quite the opposition in the €900,000 showpiece if the four-year-old grey turns up, though, and that decision will be made in the coming days.

Murphy, who famously trained Newmill to land the 2006 Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, will not make a call on the participation of the Ulysses colt until he is 100pc happy.

“The plan is to go to Sandown and he will have a breeze tomorrow (Wednesday) and he will have his blood done in the morning again,” the trainer’s son and assistant, George, said.

“A decision will be made after midday then. Hopefully we will be able to go and we’re really looking forward to it.”