O'Brien: Sir Erec has the engine to make a name for himself over hurdles
Most horses who get within two and a half lengths of Stradivarius spend Christmas recharging their batteries in preparation for a crack at the Ascot Gold Cup the following summer, but the 109-rated Sir Erec will instead be running over hurdles at Leopardstown on Thursday and Joseph O'Brien believes he has the engine and the pedigree to make a real name for himself in his new role.
Sir Erec was a progressive three-year-old on the Flat this autumn for Aidan O'Brien, winning a Listed race impressively at Limerick before taking third behind Stradivarius in the Group 2 Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Champions Day in October.
Since then he has switched from father to son and will make his jumping debut in the Paddy Power 'Only 363 Days Till Christmas' 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle, a race Ivanovich Gorbatov won in 2015 on the way to landing the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham the following March.
Sir Erec is generally a 25-1 shot for the 2019 Triumph Hurdle.
O'Brien said: "Sir Erec could be very nice. He has a big engine and we are looking forward to running him at Leopardstown on Thursday. As we all know he was a very highly-rated Flat horse but those high-rated Flat horses don't always make the transition to hurdles. I'm quite hopeful this one can, though.
"He is by Camelot who is by Montjeu so you would like to think he can make a smooth transition to hurdles and I like what I see from him at home. He seems to jump well and has taken nicely to it."
Leading the Joseph O'Brien team into battle this Christmas is Le Richebourg, who is more likely to show up in the Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown on Wednesday rather than the Nevills Hotel Novice Chase over a mile further on Saturday.
"I would say Le Richebourg is more likely to run over two miles than three so the Grade 1 on Wednesday at Leopardstown would look to be his target over Christmas. He ran well at Fairyhouse when just touched off and has been in good form since," O'Brien said.
The O'Brien stable has been beefed up by an influx of French arrivals, with ten horses coming across from Guy Cherel, most of which are now owned by JP McManus.
Among those owned by McManus is Darasso, who already has two French Listed hurdle wins on his CV, as well as Majurca, fourth in a Grade 3 chase at Auteuil on his final start for Cherel in June having won impressively by five lengths at the same venue earlier that month.
The remaining eight are named Melay, Konitho, Fakir d’Oudairies, Filon d’Oudairies, Fine Brunello, Front View, Eklat de Rire and Top Moon.
"It is a very nice boost to the yard," O'Brien said of the new arrivals. "We are very lucky to have got them and some of them have very useful form in France. We haven't had them long so I am still learning about them, but there are a few in there who you would certainly be looking forward to."
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