Los Angeles set for drop in trip in Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown

Los Angeles appears increasingly likely to join stablemates Auguste Rodin and Luxembourg in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes, the feature race on day one of Irish Champions Festival weekend.

Auguste Rodin denied Luxembourg back-to-back wins in the Leopardstown showpiece 12 months ago, but for the second year in succession the son of Deep Impact will be on a recovery mission as he looks to put a disappointing display in the King George at Ascot behind him.

Los Angeles, on the other hand, is on the crest of a wave, having won the Irish Derby and the Great Voltigeur since placing third behind Ballydoyle superstar City Of Troy in the Derby at Epsom.

While York's Great Voltigeur is traditionally a St Leger trial, trainer Aidan O’Brien is favouring a step back in trip rather than up for the son of Camelot ahead of a potential tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

"It looks like at the moment Los Angeles is going to run. We had it in our head going to York that we might go that way and that was the reason for doing it," he said on Monday.

"We thought he’s the kind of horse that could finish in the first three, four or five in a Champion Stakes and could go onto an Arc. That’s what we still think and if the ground got soft in France he’d have no problem with that.

"Obviously we were delighted with his run in York. We could go to the Leger with him, but we have three others that look like real Leger horses (Illinois, Jan Brueghel and Grosvenor Square) that will get the trip very well and we didn’t think that he needs to go that trip.

"It definitely won’t do him any harm to run over a mile and a quarter and we’ll learn a lot about him. He could be an Arc horse and I’d say there’s no doubt he’ll stay in training next year."

O’Brien