Joseph O'Brien is mapping out a route to the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham and then the Melling Chase at Aintree for his "top horse" Fakir D'oudaries.
First, the seven-year-old must cross the Irish Sea to tackle the Betfair Ascot Chase and take on the might of Paul Nicholls' Saint Calvados and Nicky Henderson's Mister Fisher in a competitive Grade 1 on Saturday, February 19.
JP McManus' Kapgarde gelding was kept at bay by the useful Allaho at Thurles in January but before that took the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase and, of course, won the Marsh (Melling) Chase at Aintree in April '21.

French recruit Fakir D'oudaries has always had a touch of class and has the perfect opportunity to create a 2022 legacy at the premier British jumps meetings.

On finding suitable races for his talented charge, O'Brien said "He's a Grade 1 winner and when you're meeting those Grade 1 horses you bump into the best of the best every time. He's been a fantastic servant for us over the last few years and every year he has performed at the top level. Hopefully he can do so again this season. He's still a young horse. I suppose he's had kind of a middle rating, just below the real top and above the handicaps but I think he's still a top horse."

O'Brien isn't too bothered about jumping mistakes which have crept into Fakir D'oudaries' game recently and is hopeful he can get into a solid early rhythm.

"What can you do but hope he goes down and meets it on a good stride. Touch wood he's generally a pretty good jumper, so hopefully he gets a clear run at the first and gets it right and we can get into a nice rhythm from there."
The significance of an Ascot Chase win is not lost on O'Brien, son of AP O'Brien, who trained the legendary Istabraq carrying the green and gold skills of JP McManus, for whom a victory in the Berkshire spectacle with Fakir D'oudaries would be a first.
O'Brien said "It would be fantastic. It's great to be taking part of there and it's great to have a horse of this calibre that we can go to a race like this with a live chance. It would be very special if we can manage to win the race."
Fakir D'Oudaries is currently a 9/2 shot with Planet Sport Bet to win the Betfair Ascot Chase and after that, Cheltenham and Aintree are very much in view.
"The Ryanair and Aintree are the two logical steps from here. Whether you'd miss the Ryanair and go straight to Aintree, or whether you'd tie in both would probably depend on how the horse is feeling after Ascot, but they're the two logical races for him after Ascot."