Aidan O'Brien is seriously considering running his star stayer Kyprios in this year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Last season saw the seven year old reassert his dominance in the staying division, clinching victories at the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, the Goodwood Cup, the Irish St Leger and the Prix du Cadran. He then capped off an unbeaten seven-race streak with a win on British Champions Day.
After his second triumph at the Irish Leger, O'Brien hinted at the possibility of reducing Kyprios' distance for Europe's top middle-distance race at ParisLongchamp in early October. However, he ultimately chose to stick with the two-and-a-half-mile journey of the Cadran.
This year, though, things might take a different turn. O'Brien shared: "We're over the moon with Kyprios, we think he's forward and he's going to go to Navan (Vintage Crop Stakes), to Leopardstown (Saval Beg) and to Ascot (Gold Cup).
"If we got into the year as far as we got last year, we might look at the Arc this year instead of going to the Cadran. That is what we're thinking, if we get that far.
Sign up for our Cheltenham Festival news service on WhatsApp
Click on this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest Cheltenham Festival news and top stories from the Irish Mirror direct to your phone on WhatsApp. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
"The Gold Cup is the main target for the first half of the season, then there's Goodwood and the Irish Leger could be the prep for Arc time. Whether he goes to the Cadran or the Arc we'll see, but although he's seven now, his whole attitude hasn't changed at all since he was a two-year-old, which is very unusual."
Another O'Brien inmate tipped for Arc glory come autumn is Los Angeles, the Irish Derby champ who placed third behind Bluestocking in last year's contest and has several high-profile engagements on his agenda this season.
"The plan is he might go to France for the Prix Ganay and come back to the Tattersalls Gold Cup – and if that went well, he could go for the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot," O'Brien disclosed.
"We'll try and keep him at a mile and a quarter for as long as we can. Whether he'll go to the King George I'm not sure, but we think in the autumn the Arc might suit him, so we just have to be conscious of that early in the year.
"We think he's improved a lot physically and his work is very good."
Aussie speedster Storm Boy is set to bring fresh firepower to O'Brien's roster of older horses in Europe, aiming to make a splash at the Curragh's Greenlands Stakes next month.
O'Brien further revealed: "The plan is to go to the Curragh on (Irish) Guineas weekend for the six-furlong race and if that went well, he'll go to Ascot for the six-furlong race (Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes).
"We think he's fast. Before he came, I wasn't sure whether he was a six or seven-furlong horse or a miler, but he's fast and we think he's a sprinter."
Sign up to our horse racing newsletter here to get news direct to your inbox.
Story Saved
You can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
