Irish Champion the target for Guineas hero Saxon Warrior as he bids to bounce back to his best
Aidan O'Brien's star three-year-old flopped in the Juddmonte last time but will keep to a mile-and-a-quarter in search of redemption
SAXON WARRIOR is set to add the Irish Champion Stakes to an already jam-packed campaign at Leopardstown next weekend.
Aidan O'Brien's three-year-old hasn't won since May and will race on home soil for the first time since finishing third in the Irish Derby.
Connections are hoping the decision to stick to a mile and a quarter will pay off as their stalwart heads to the well once again.
The son of Deep Impact has been disappointing since winning the 2,000 Guineas, and trainer Aidan O'Brien has seemingly been unable to decide on his most suitable trip.
However, he showed when just beaten in the Eclipse that he has form capable of winning the Group 1 contest if putting his best foot forward.
"He was sick enough after Sandown. He was properly sick. All we wanted to do was get him back healthy and get a run into him and that was the reason of going to York. We were very happy with his run there," said O'Brien.
"We are thinking the Irish Champion at the moment. He has done his first bit back and we were very happy with that.
"The three races we had in our mind were York, Leopardstown and he might go back to the mile at Ascot (QEII). I'm not sure he has a preferred trip yet.
"He is very comfortable over a mile as that is where he won his two Group Ones, but we always thought he would stay middle-distance trips. Next time will tell us an awful lot."