Joseph O'Brien tempted by international Group 1s for improving Patrick Sarsfield

Joseph O'Brien is eyeing up a Group 1 next for his rapidly improving Patrick Sarsfield, and reports the injury plagued Rekindling to be none the worse for the 2017 Melbourne Cup winner's belated return to action at Leopardstown.

Patrick Sarsfield made it four wins in a row for O'Brien when running out an impressive winner of the Group 3 Meld Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, a performance which earned him a rating of 114.

That was his first time stepping outside of handicap company and, given he passed the test with flying colours, O'Brien is set to step him up in class.

O'Brien said: "Patrick Sarsfield was very good on Saturday and we might be forced to look for a Group 1 for him sooner rather than later. I'll try to find the most suitable one for him to go to and we might travel outside of Ireland with him.

"I always thought he was a nice horse and would end up running in Group races, but you never expect a horse to go through the grades so quickly. He has a lot of options now and we might travel with him."

Joseph O'Brien with owner Lloyd Williams and Corey Brown after Rekindling won the Melbourne Cup in November 2017Credit: Racing Photos

Rekindling was sent off favourite on his return from a 490-day break at Leopardstown, but could only take sixth behind Tandem in a 1m4f race for qualified riders.

The good news is that O'Brien reports him to be in rude health since the race, which will be a relief given we have only seen him twice since his famous Flemington success.

The trainer said: "Rekindling seems to have come out of the race at Leopardstown very well. He pulled up fine after it and there is no sign of the old injury recurring, thank God. We have no decision made on where he will go next but he's in good form and that's the main thing."

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