Jeannot Lapin now has Flyingbolt bid at Navan on his radar

Gearoid O’Loughlin has the Flyingbolt Chase pencilled in for Jeannot Lapin after his gallant effort in the Irish Arkle.

The chestnut caught the eye with his debut performance over fences at Leopardstown just after Christmas, firstly with his towering stature and then secondly with the smart run he produced to win a beginners’ contest at 150-1.

He found himself in far deeper waters during his next outing when lining up amid a field of six for the Grade One Irish Arkle over the same course and distance, with Ricky Doyle in the saddle again as the duo went off at 33-1.

Willie Mullins’ Majborough strolled home nine lengths to the good and is currently second-favourite behind Sir Gino for the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival as a result, but as an outsider Jeannot Lapin performed with great credit to finish fourth.

O’Loughlin was encouraged by the run and has a trip to Navan in mind for the gelding’s next outing, before Aintree could come under consideration in the spring.

He said: “He’s come out of the race really well, he probably hadn’t a hard race because we didn’t ride him to get too involved – if we did it all again and knew him better, we’d probably have been more prominent.

“I’d say he did us proud, when you look at the time the race was run in, it was a good bit quicker than the average Arkle and he’s a horse only having his second start on a racecourse.

“My main target is now the Grade Three at Navan, the Flyingbolt, I think that will fit in well and if we’re lucky enough to win it, then we might think about Aintree.

“He could be a nice Aintree horse, it’s a flat track and he’s a big galloper. He does have an entry for the Arkle (at Cheltenham), but that was more us being cautious in case he went and ran really well at Leopardstown.

“That’s the plan anyway; he’s a lovely, big, sound horse with an amazing constitution – and that will stand him in good stead.”