O’Brien banking on another Australia day at Leopardstown

Aidan O’Brien is banking on further progress from dual Derby hero Australia as the master of Ballydoyle strives to win the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes for an eighth time at Leopardstown on Saturday.

The Epsom and Curragh Classic winner was not inconvenienced by the drop back in distance for the Juddmonte International Stakes at York which he won in great style from The Grey Gatsby.

O’Brien made it clear Australia was only just ready to return to the track when he turned up on the Knavesmire last month.

“We were delighted he ran in York and got through it and look forward to Leopardstown with him,” he said.

“He was only ready to go racing that day. He’d had a good break and done very well. He was only ready for a good racecourse gallop.

“That was the state he was at and obviously we were a bit worried going into a big race like that, but he came out of it well and we were delighted with the performance on the day.

“We’ll take one race at a time. Leopardstown is the next target. I suppose we’ll discuss his next race after that. That’s what we’ve always done with every race so far.”

Australia’s rider Joseph O’Brien is welcoming the challenge in what looks a solid renewal.

He said: “It’s great there’s a good field.

“You have to beat the best to be the best and the more the better horses turn up the better.

“It’s such a competitive race and very exciting.

“I might never get to ride another one like him again.”

The Grey Gatsby was supplemented at the five-day stage and his trainer Kevin Ryan has no qualms about taking on his old adversary with the Dante and French Derby hero.

When asked if he would rather not take on Australia, Ryan said: “What else am I supposed to do?

“He ran a great race at York but there’s lots of good horses in it — it’s not just a two-horse race by any means.

“Australia got first run on us at York, but I’m still not sure we’d have beaten him.

“This is a different day, three weeks later, and they are the two best around.

“He stays in training next year, there’s no doubt about that.”

Australia will be accompanied by his regular pacemaker Kingfisher, while Eclipse winner Mukhadram could also have a helping hand in Alkasser from Dermot Weld’s stable.

Mukhadram, trained by William Haggas, was only fourth behind Australia at York, but connections feel they may have got the tactics wrong there.

“It should be a fascinating race,” said Angus Gold, racing manager for owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.

“William (Haggas) seems happy with him. He feels he’s a horse that loves on his racing.

“He’s had a long, relatively hard, season. At the moment he’s not showing any sign of the effects. He’s a big, tough horse.

“He’s a horse that likes to get on with it and do his own thing.

“We probably disappointed him at York. Sheikh Hamdan told Paul (Hanagan) to make sure he got a lead. The horse fought him for two furlongs and that was it. The horse got fed up with it.

“He’s a very good horse on his day and is taking on the big boys.”

Al Kazeem won three Group One races last year and was second in this race 12 months ago before going to stud.

Now back in training, the Roger Charlton-trained six-year-old tries his hand at the top level again after winning the Group Three Winter Hill Stakes at Windsor last month.

Owner John Deer said: “It’s going to be a tough one and I don’t really know where he is compared to where he was last year, but we’ll find out on Saturday.

“He’s been doing some nice work on the gallops, apparently, and I hope he might be back to somewhere near where he was this time last year.

“It looks like there should be plenty of pace in the race. It looks as though Mukhadram has a pacemaker in the race and Australia will have a pacemaker as well.

“If there is a good pace, we’ll probably stay back, as will Australia, I would imagine, and we’ll see how things pan out from there.

“The one small concern I have is that the ground might be a little bit on the fast side for him.

“I think it might be similar to when he ran at York last year (in the Juddmonte International) where he looked like he was going to win and didn’t quite go through with it on the ground (finishing third behind Declaration Of War).

“He’s an older horse now and pretty strong, so hopefully he’ll do all right.

“At the end of the day, he doesn’t owe us anything and I just hope he doesn’t get thrashed.

“If he does, we’ll look at Group Three races at home or Group Two or Group Ones in Germany or places like that.”