Aidan O’Brien keeping options open over Los Angeles programme

Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner defied a 5lb penalty in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York last week, with stablemate Illinois closing him down rapidly in the last of the 12 furlongs.

If he stays at home for the Irish Champion, he will be dropping to 10 furlongs, but should he run at Doncaster, he will be stepping up to a mile and three-quarters.

O’Brien is well stocked for both races, with Auguste Rodin pencilled in for the highlight of the Irish Champions Festival, while at Doncaster, stablemates Illinois, the unbeaten Jan Brueghel and Grosvenor Square are heading the betting.

With City Of Troy set to skip the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in favour of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Los Angeles could book his ticket for Paris by running well at Leopardstown.

“He could go to either the St Leger or the Irish Champion Stakes. Obviously, if he’s going to the Arc, he could go for the Irish Champion Stakes,” said O’Brien.

“Auguste Rodin could go there as well with Luxembourg. That’s a little bit of a change this week.

“We’ll see what the ground is going to be like at Doncaster and there are three other horses that could run in the St Leger if he (Los Angeles) didn’t run there.

“He seems to have come out of the race (in York) well. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks.”

More from Sporting Life

• 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.