Apparition
“He’s in great form. We have a few different options for him during the week, but I’d say he’s more than likely to for the two-mile-five-furlong handicap hurdle on Wednesday if he gets in. It’ll be his first run beyond two miles over hurdles, but he seems to stay well on the Flat, so we’d be hopeful that he’ll stay the longer trip. He’ll have entries on the Flat later in the week and he could well run back quickly if all was OK with him.”
Bhutan
“We were very happy with his run at Bellewstown and he has a few different options during the week. I’d say he is likely to run in the two-mile handicap hurdle on Friday evening and we think he is quite versatile with regard to the trip, so dropping back in distance shouldn’t be a problem for him. The better the ground, the better his chance.”
Chateau Conti
“He had his first run for us at Down Royal last month. We were happy with his performance there and he came out of it well. He will have entries in the beginners chase over two-mile two-furlongs on Tuesday and over two-mile seven-furlongs on Thursday and will run in one of those. His schooling has been good and we’d be hopeful he can be competitive.”
Derby De Thaix
“We’d like to run him in the two-mile handicap hurdle on Monday and hopefully he won’t be balloted out. We have other options later in the week and would like to run him twice if we could. We think he has some improvement in him and will be winning sooner rather than later.”
Facethepuckout
“We were happy with his first run in nursery at the Curragh the other day. We’ll step him up in the trip for the seven-furlong nursery on Saturday and we’d be hoping that he could improve for that trip. He should run well.”
Housesofparliament
“He’ll probably run in the two-mile-six-furlong handicap hurdle on Saturday. He seems in great form at home and we were very happy with how well he was suited by the longer trip when winning at Gowran Park last time. The fact that he has won at the track before is also a positive. He would prefer if the rain stayed away.”
Ivanovich Gorbatov
“He’ll run in the Galway Hurdle on Thursday. He was very disappointing in his latest run over hurdles, but it was encouraging to see him show more spark back on the Flat at Killarney last time. We are hoping that might be a sign that he is coming back to himself, but he wouldn’t want much rain at all as he very much prefers better ground.”
Joseph O’Brien pictured with his brother Donnacha (left) during day one of last year’s Festival.
Le Richebourg
“The plan is to run him in the Galway Hurdle on Thursday. It’s a big ask of him considering that he doesn’t have much experience in big-field handicaps and it will also be his first run of the season. We’d be hopeful that he has the ability to close if things go right for him, but the threat of rain is a worry as he is another that wants good ground.”
Monarch
“He has improved all through the summer to win his last two starts in handicap hurdles. He is a strong traveller that he has plenty of pace. A big-field handicap like this should suit him well. He has gone up plenty in the weights for his last couple of starts and needs to improve again to go close in a race like this. We’d prefer good ground for him.”
Slowmotion
“She’s in great form. She ran very well in the Galway Plate last year but disappointed us after that. She ran better over hurdles at Tipperary last time and showed enough to justify giving her another crack at the Galway Plate on Wednesday. I’d say we’ll put some headgear on her and hopefully, she’ll run another good race.”
Subjudice
“He is a nice horse that pleased us with how he ran on his handicap debut at Leopardstown last time. We have had one eye on Galway with him for a little while and he will have a few entries in staying handicaps on the Flat during the week. It all depends on where he gets in, but he could potentially run twice during the week all being well. He’s one that would appreciate the rain if it arrives. He represents the Joseph O’Brien Racing Club and I’m sure there will be a big turnout of members to support him during the week.”
Tigris River
“He gave us a great day when winning the Galway Hurdle last year and we’ll give him the chance to defend his title. He has been disappointing in the main since that day and is still a fair bit higher in the weights than he was last year, so it will be tough for him in such a competitive race. He has shown a bit more in his last couple of starts and he won mind a little bit of rain, so we are hopeful he can run well. There is a chance he might wear cheekpieces.”
Tremendous Leap
“He’s a consistent horse that hasn’t been doing a whole lot wrong despite not winning yet. He’ll have a few entries and we’d ideally like to run him in the extended mile handicap for three-year-olds on Wednesday. I think the stiff finish will suit him well.”
Vieux Morvan
“We’ve been aiming him at the Galway Plate, but he isn’t sure to get into it. We have a couple of backup options over fences for him later in the week if he doesn’t get in. We thought he’d run a bit better in his comeback run over hurdles last time, so he will need to come forward a fair bit from that to be competitive next week.”
