Joseph O’Brien regards his HK$26 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) contender Al Riffa as the horse who can help further his ambition to become a regular face at the major race meetings around the world in the coming years.

Al Riffa, a strapping five-year-old by Wootton Bassett, has already given a glimpse of that potential with a second to Godolphin’s globetrotter Rebel’s Romance at Royal Ascot in June and a much-debated seventh to Half Yours in the 2025 G1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).

O’Brien believes his 2025 G1 Irish St Leger Stakes (2800m) winner is now ready for a serious international campaign: “He’s a big powerful horse,” he said. “His form has been really consistent over the past few seasons at a very high level, and when being shipped around the world, he has taken the travel in his stride.

“He’s had a busy season so far and we’re looking forward to him running in Hong Kong.  I think he’s probably the ideal type for the Vase. His second behind Rebel’s Romance (in the G2 Hardwicke Stakes) was over the same distance on fast ground, conditions not too dissimilar to what he will get at Sha Tin.”

Al Riffa first came to notice when winning the G1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes (1400m) at the Curragh as a two-year-old. He popped up on the radar again when second to the subsequent G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (2400m) winner Ace Impact in the G2 Prix Guillaume D’Ornano (2000m) at Deauville as a three-year-old at only his fifth start.

O’Brien says there was good reason the young horse was sparingly raced at that stage.

“He was getting ready for the (G1, 1600m) Irish 2000 Guineas (in May) but returned a dirty scope and had to bypass the race.  He had picked up a little bug, and it meant he missed the first part of his three-year-old campaign.

“Then he was being aimed at the (G1, 2000m) Irish Champion Stakes (in September) and suffered another set-back. After that, there wasn’t really anything suitable left for him at that point of the season. We didn’t want to travel him. He just got a bit unlucky and missed a couple of key stages of that year.”

Al Riffa’s four-year-old days were more straightforward. Gathering experience and gaining in physical strength, it became a significant season.

“He won his Group 1 in Germany (Grosser Preis von Berlin, 2400m) and he was second to City Of Troy in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes (2000m).

“He had some really high-class pieces of form in there,” O’Brien said. “And this year, at five, we’ve gradually eased him in, stepping him up in trip, and he’s gone to a new level again. He’s also proven versatile when it comes to track conditions (going).

“At Royal Ascot, he had a rating of 117 on the day on fast ground, and when he won the Irish St Leger, it was on the soft side and he got 120. The ground is not a problem for him.”

Al Riffa was ridden by Mark Zahra in the Melbourne Cup last month. Drawn wide in 19 (of 24 runners), and shouldering top weight of 59kg (130lb), he was dropped to the rear of the field and had plenty of ground to make up on the home turn.

He finished seventh, nine-and-a-quarter lengths behind the winner Half Yours, with the ride sparking various opinions. O’Brien said: “We were satisfied with his run in Melbourne, and now we are looking forward to Hong Kong.  After that, we could also look at the Dubai World Cup next year.”

Dylan Browne McMonagle, who has ridden Al Riffa in all five of his wins (including three Group 1s), will be back in the saddle in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase.

Joseph O’Brien is already a remarkable figure in racing, aged just 32 years. His career as a jockey was fleeting yet he twice rode the winner of the G1 Derby Stakes (2400m) at Epsom, was twice champion jockey of Ireland, and rode winners at the Breeders’ Cup and Dubai World Cup meetings. He went to the scales at around 126lb (57kg), which is incredible considering he is six feet tall.

He retired from the saddle two months short of his 23rd birthday and immediately took out a licence to train. By the age of 28, he had trained the winners of two Melbourne Cups, a G1 W.S. Cox Plate (2040m) and G1 Irish Derby (2400m).

His Irish Derby winner Latrobe was his only previous runner at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races – he finished 11th in the 2018 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, won by Exultant.

This year, the trainer is also saddling Galen in the HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m), in which he lines up against Romantic Warrior. The four-year-old ran a career-best when second to Royal Champion in the G2 Bahrain International Trophy (2000m) last month.

O’Brien said: “We are always keen to race internationally, and we will go where we can be competitive. We are aggressive in our campaigning and it’s something that we will continue to focus on in coming years.”