O’Brien keeping options open over Los Angeles programme

Los Angeles will either run in the Betfred St Leger or the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes on September 14.

Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner defied a 5lb penalty in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York last week, with stablemate Illinois closing him down rapidly in the last of the 12 furlongs.

If he stays at home for the Irish Champion, he will be dropping to 10 furlongs, but should he run at Doncaster, he will be stepping up to a mile and three-quarters.

O’Brien is well stocked for both races, with Auguste Rodin pencilled in for the highlight of the Irish Champions Festival, while at Doncaster, stablemates Illinois, the unbeaten Jan Brueghel and Grosvenor Square are heading the betting.

With City Of Troy set to skip the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in favour of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Los Angeles could book his ticket for Paris by running well at Leopardstown.

“He could go to either the St Leger or the Irish Champion Stakes. Obviously, if he’s going to the Arc, he could go for the Irish Champion Stakes,” said O’Brien.

“Auguste Rodin could go there as well with Luxembourg. That’s a little bit of a change this week.

“We’ll see what the ground is going to be like at Doncaster and there are three other horses that could run in the St Leger if he (Los Angeles) didn’t run there.

“He seems to have come out of the race (in York) well. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of weeks.”