Proud And Regal© Photo Healy Racing
Donnacha O’Brien is targeting two of his leading lights at the Curragh this weekend with Proud And Regal aimed at the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas and Piz Badile in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Proud And Regal showed smart form as a juvenile when runner-up to Al Riffa in the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes before gaining Group 1 glory in the Criterium International at Saint-Cloud.
The Galileo colt was sent off the 6/4 favourite on his reappearance in the Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown but could find no extra inside the final furlong when third behind Sprewell.
“He’s in good form and the plan is to go to the Curragh for the Guineas,” O’Brien told Racing TV.
“Gavin (Ryan) thought the ten furlongs stretched him a bit on a stiff track like Leopardstown but it was his first run of the year so he probably got a bit tired as well.
“The Irish Guineas was nice spacing so the plan is to go there and hopefully he will run well.
“We still haven’t really figured out what his trip is. I took him out of Epsom and we’ll see how the Guineas goes. He’d also have the option of travelling abroad for something like the Belmont Derby.”
Piz Badile, runner-up to Westover in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby last year, also finished third on his first outing of the current campaign behind Visualisation in the Coolmore Stud Sottsass Irish EBF Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh.
“He’s working very well. It was hard to know what to take out of that last race, it was a mess of a race.
“The plan is to go for the Tattersalls Gold Cup. It looks a strong race on paper.”
