Joseph O’Brien set to return to Flat racing at Cork

Joseph O'Brien is set to return to Flat racing at Cork over the Bank Holiday weekend after being booked for a couple of rides by British trainer Mick Easterby.

The dual champion jockey missed the opening day of the turf season at the Curragh on Sunday after being described as “a little heavy” by his father, Aidan, and instead rode over hurdles for the first time at Limerick on the same afternoon.

O’Brien junior also missed Wednesday evening’s all-weather fixture at Dundalk, leading to more speculation about his long-term future, but the jockey insists he is getting to grips with his weight.

He said: “I was going to ride (at Dundalk) on Wednesday, but my brother jocked me off it with a couple of hours to go. I’d say I’ll be back at either Cork on Saturday or Monday.

“I think I have two for Mick Easterby on Monday. I’m not 100 per cent sure about Saturday yet, so we’ll see what happens.

“I think I’m winning (with the weight) at the minute. It’s not too bad the last couple of days. Hopefully I’ll be back in action soon enough.

“We have plenty of nice horses and I’m looking forward to getting back riding. It’s going to be a long year ahead.

“I just eat healthy, do plenty of running and keep busy. I ride about 10 or 11 (horses) a day and play soccer once or twice a week.”

Speaking to the Talking Horses show on racingfm.com, O’Brien said: “I don’t see myself having a proper crack at the jumps any time soon anyway. At the moment we have a couple of nice horses we’ll be kicking on with during the summer and the winter and I’m happy enough just to sit on a couple of them for the moment.

“I always said that I’d have a couple of rides over jumps. Whenever you have a ride you want it to win, whether it’s over hurdles or on the Flat. Please God, I’ll have a couple of winners.

“I rode plenty of ponies cross-country (racing) and eventing when I was younger. I really enjoyed it and I was always going to have a couple of spins over jumps when the time came and it suited. It’s nice to get the first one out of the way.”

Asked whether he could see himself competing at the Cheltenham Festival in the future, the jockey said: "I suppose anyone that ever rides over jumps the dream is to end up riding in Cheltenham. That's the pinnacle.

“I’d say that’s a long way down the road yet.”