Racing

O’Brien employing ‘maintenance’ regime ahead of Luxembourg’s Arc bid

Irish Champion Stakes winner primed for big assignment in Paris

Ryan Moore gides Luxembourg to victory in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Ryan Moore gides Luxembourg to victory in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
PA Sport Reporters
Sun Sept 18 2022 - 16:42

Aidan O’Brien will just put Luxembourg through “maintenance work” between now and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The Ballydoyle handler had to use all his experience to get one of last year’s leading juveniles into peak condition for the Irish Champion Stakes after his season was interrupted by a muscular injury following his third-place finish in the 2000 Guineas.

Luxembourg was a narrow winner in the Royal Whip in mid-August, leaving him a month to get ready for the Irish Champion Stakes, which he subsequently won, so he will now step up to a mile and a half in Paris.

“It’s difficult to say how much [improvement] from Leopardstown to the Arc but his work schedule was brutal up to Leopardstown, it had to be for him to get to where we were hoping that he could get to,” O’Brien told Sky Sports Racing.

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“Obviously he can’t go through that again because we feel he was there when he ran in Leopardstown, so he’ll be doing maintenance work between now the Arc and then the rest will be when he goes the extra distance to see what will happen.

“When that happens to a horse and he comes out of the race well, which is always a massive thing, but we think that he has, and we’re really looking forward to seeing what will happen.

“Leopardstown was tough and competitive and the other horse [Onesto] really put it up to him all the way to the line, going through the line Ryan [Moore] was happy he wasn’t stopping.

“It was really exciting to see and there is a chance that going the extra distance [he could improve] again.”

Another likely big player for O’Brien over Arc weekend is star stayer Kyprios, who has carried all before him this season and could run in the Prix du Cadran following his Irish St Leger win.

“There’s a strong possibility he could go to the Cadran,” said O’Brien. “He came out of it very well and it’s very possible that’s where he could go, we’ll see how he is over the next little bit.

“He loves what he is doing, he really enjoys it. We can go back [in trip] but he really enjoys it, so there’s a strong possibility he could go to the Cadran.”