Al Riffa ready to be involved in Irish Champion Stakes Joseph O'Brien reports all systems go for Al Riffa's challenge in the Group 1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday. The Wootton Bassett colt has come home runner-up in both outings this season - in the Group 3 International Stakes at the Curragh in July and in a Group 2 at Deauville this month. O'Brien said on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast: “He had a very good run in France the last day and this race was the plan since then. His preparation has gone well and we are looking forward to be being involved in what looks a good race. “He’s a lightly-raced colt coming off the back of a very good run and we think he can step forward from that run again. “He’s ended up on ground with a bit of juice in it through no fault of his own and we think he’ll have no problem handling the quicker surface. We think he’s fairly versatile going-wise. “We are looking potentially at the Arc and the British Champion Stakes after Leopardstown and he has the option of some international races further afield, but we are taking it one step at a time.” Al Riffa banked a Group 1 in the National Stakes in last year's renewal of Irish Champions Festival. Additional reporting by Alan Magee
