Le Richebourg to Give Joseph O’Brien Another Live Festival Contender

Le Richebourg is already as short as 5/1 in places for the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival in March but another impressive victory in the Irish Arkle on Saturday afternoon would no doubt cut his price even further. It would also give young trainer Joseph O’Brien another live festival chance to go to war with, after showing his strong Triumph Hurdle hand last weekend. His horses are clearly going well for him at the moment, and we could be just over a month away from what may be a huge festival for him.

There was a lot of top quality racing over the Christmas period, and inside all of that there are often many performances that get forgotten about. Had you seen it, you certainly wouldn’t have forgotten just how impressive  Le Richebourg was on Boxing Day over this course and distance in a Grade One contest.

He did everything you would want from an Arkle contender, he jumped well and fast over the fences, he showed a great cruising speed and when it came to the final furlong, he kicked clear to show there was plenty left in the tank. He could not have been any more impressive that day, and that is exactly what I think we are going to see from him again on Saturday afternoon.

He had Us And Them, Voix Du Reve and Mengli Khan all in behind him that day in 2nd, 3rd and 4th and all three re-oppose here looking to get revenge. However, I don’t quite see how they can do that, none of those three can be described as unlucky last time out, and there is every chance that Le Richebourg will come out and be even better tomorrow.

This is another important Saturday in the training career of Joseph O’Brien and I am backing him to come out on top once again.