‘This fella looks special’ – Three Joseph O’Brien horses to follow on the Flat in 2024

We’re still in the early stages of the Flat season, which means the stable tours are coming thick and fast. Joseph O’Brien’s was recently published in the Racing Post and it sounds like 2024 could be a big year. There are three horses with particularly bullish assessments which stood out and they could be worth following this year. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

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‘He’s in really good shape’

Al Riffa was an excellent juvenile and managed to win the Group 1 National Stakes back in 2022. Injury setbacks hindered his three-year-old campaign but that means he should be raring to go this year. His trainer said: “He’s in really good shape and the plan is to go to the Prix Ganay. It was frustrating not to make the Irish Champion Stakes as he had a last-minute setback, but he’s had a nice break, he’s fresh and well and hopefully he can reap the rewards of his owner’s patience. We’re looking forward to trying him over a mile and a half at some stage this season too. Hopefully we will be targeting the Arc come the autumn.”

‘This fella looked special’

Cowardofthecounty is a talented two-year-old and he already looks like a Royal Ascot contender. It was an impressive debut victory at the Curragh on Sunday and O’Brien has always rated him. He said: “This fella looked like he could be a bit special at home, but you’re never really sure with a two-year-old until they go to the races. He’s a particularly laid-back horse and couldn’t have been more impressive at the Curragh on Sunday. He’s big, well over 500 kilos, which for a two-year-old at this stage is a lot. He could go straight for the Coventry now. He’s such a big horse I don’t know if he needs to run again.”

‘He’s wintered very well’

One dark horse that could be going places this year is Galen. The three-year-old colt finished second to City of Troy on his sole start as a juvenile and there should be plenty more to come. O’Brien added: “He’s wintered very well. He had a little hold-up after his debut run at the Curragh behind City Of Troy. He ran really well there and he’ll get started as soon as we get some nice ground, around mid-May. He could still be an Irish Guineas horse, but if the ground doesn’t dry out in time for that we will look for a nice race at Royal Ascot.”

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