James J Braddock

O'Brien, who operates out of Owning Hill in Co Kilkenny and has sent out 160 winners already this season — a number that tells you this is one of the busiest and most successful yards in Ireland — has been thinking big about this horse for a while. He has described James J Braddock as a "smart" horse and a "very good work horse", earmarking him as a middle-distance or staying type. That means he is bred and built for longer races, the kind where stamina counts as much as speed. Before the Leopardstown win, O'Brien had the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot in his sights — one of the most prestigious middle-distance races in the British calendar. Now, with the win banked and options opening up, the plan is still taking shape.

What makes this horse worth paying attention to is not just the two wins — it is what O'Brien said afterwards: that this is "a horse that will hopefully turn up in top international races through the course of his career." That is not the kind of language trainers use casually. His recent form reads 6-3-1-5-1-2, which shows some inconsistency, but also two wins in the last six races and a string of placed efforts suggesting he is rarely far away. At three years old, with a trainer of O'Brien's calibre steering him toward the biggest stages, James J Braddock is a horse that racing fans will want to keep an eye on.