St George looks set to chart O'Brien's familiar path to Royal Ascot

Seamus & Rosemary McGrath Memorial Saval Beg Stakes | Listed | 1m6f | 4yo+ | ATR

Aidan O’Brien has successfully used the Saval Beg Stakes as a warm-up for the Gold Cup three times in the past ten years and Order Of St George will be bidding to chart a similar path towards the royal meeting by taking this race for the second year running.

Last year’s Gold Cup hero followed in the hoofprints of Ballydoyle’s Yeats in 2007 and Fame And Glory in 2011, who also used this race as a stepping stone for Ascot, and he is likely to go off a short-priced favourite with Ryan Moore making the trip across the Irish Sea to ride.

A general 15-8 favourite for the Gold Cup, Order Of St George arrives at Leopardstown after blowing away the cobwebs in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan, when despite getting going late, he was unable to catch Jessica Harrington’s Torcedor, who side-steps this engagement.

O’Brien admits he took great credit from that reappearance run, and expects the five-year-old to improve for the blowout, saying: “He's been in very good form since Navan and we're happy with how he's progressed.

He added: “This is a race that we had pencilled in for him for a while. He obviously won this race last year before going on to win the Ascot Gold Cup but it’s a little bit different this year in that there’s a little bit more time between the races. We don’t see that as being a disadvantage, though, and we are very happy.”

There was just a half a length between Order Of St George and the improving Jim Bolger-trained stayer Twilight Payment at Navan, although that rival had the benefit of a seasonal bow under his belt.

Joseph O’Brien is realistic about the chances Motherland has of toppling his father’s standard setter, and said: "He's in good form. We're very happy with him and expect him to run well but Order Of St George will be very hard to beat.”

As well as the highly informative action on the track, Leopardstown will be staging a ladies evening backed by Jessica Harrington. The event has been organised to create a networking opportunity for women at the races as well as raising awareness for Breast Cancer Ireland.