Richard O'Brien finding dual purpose with sales-bound Shanbally Kid

Richard O'Brien's largely Flat string has been spruced up by a small dalliance with the National Hunt world, the latest of which is among the more interesting members of Friday's Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale.

The County Limerick-based trainer has four on the board and a 50 per cent strike-rate which includes Impulsive Dancer, who moved privately to the Willie Mullins stable and recently took a Listed bumper at O'Brien's local track.

His latest was last week's wide-margin Clonmel winner Shanbally Kid (lot 19), a recent arrival from owner-breeder John Hayes after making his debut for Philip Fenton.

O'Brien said: "The owners have these young horses to be developed, get form and to be sold. It fitted in lovely with his win last Thursday so we're looking forward to seeing how he gets on.

"We had him for about three weeks, he showed plenty and the betting suggested he was going to be capable of doing something like that.

"The most interesting thing about that fellow is that there's a bit of depth to that race. Willie and Henry [de Bromhead] were second and third and they thought a little bit of theirs. He took care of them, so it does make him interesting as a horse for someone for next year."

O'Brien notes the "massive" difference between Impulsive Dancer, an €8,500 Flat-bred yearling purchase, and Shanbally Kid, who is a Presenting gelding out of a Kalanisi mare.

"Impulsive Dancer is limited size-wise but one of these sleepers, he just keeps on surprising you and I wouldn't like to put a ceiling on him," he said.

"This is more of your dyed-in-the-wool National Hunt horse, you'd imagine he'd have a lovely career over hurdles before having a career over fences.

"The main thing is to see them go on and do something. For Impulsive Dancer to go away and win a Listed bumper is a right feather in our cap; hopefully this lad can be of a similar standard."

While the route followed by the likes of Alan King and Noel Meade is to increasingly view the Flat as the profitable part of a dual-purpose set-up, O'Brien, who has held a licence since late 2016 with only one other jump winner, intends to be flexible.

"When you're a small business like ours, you're just taking your opportunities as they come and with any horse that comes into the place you're just trying to locate the place they're best suited to win their races," he said.

"It's going to be something I'm going to have to keep more of an eye on; they're running too well.

"There's a massive opportunity to grow this place and it may be with a mix of Flat and National Hunt - they could start to become the priority - but we'll just have to wait and see."

Horses will begin to be sold from 1pm and include other promising bumper types like Hansard (45), who struck for Charles O'Brien at Ballinrobe, and Ewan Whillans' Rocky Hill (30).

Attention focuses on stocking up for next season now and the catalogue for a sale which has produced the likes of Belfast Banter, Does He Know and Global Citizen is wide-ranging and even includes a French representative in the Gabriel Leenders-trained hurdler Oxygen (13).

The bulk come from the British and Irish pointing fields. Bare Assets (50), a sister to Aintree Grade 1-winning hurdler Lovcen, put on a fine display for Jonathan Fogarty at Stradbally. It was the same card on which El Muchacho (23), a grey son of Walk In The Park, won well for Mick Goff. His conqueror in a previous start at Dromahane, Carrigmoorna Rowan (66), is also in the line-up.

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