O’Brien upbeat as Abbey braced for Frankel challenge

Jockey Joseph O’Brien is excited about being involved in the Juddmonte International at York today and his mount, St Nicholas Abbey, is a new threat to Frankel.

But whereas Frankel is stepping up in trip for the first time, St Nicholas Abbey’s best form is over a mile and a half. O’Brien does not expect the distance to be a problem, though.

He said: “It doesn’t get much better than this, taking on Frankel with a horse like St Nicholas Abbey.