After being supplemented for the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Okeechobee has become a formidable opponent for Auguste Rodin at the Curragh on Sunday.
Okeechobee, who won the Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown by a close margin last month, could have gone back to the Esher track on Thursday night to compete in the Brigadier Gerard.
Owners Juddmonte, however, have chosen to fork up the necessary €50,000 to enter the colt trained by Harry Charlton in this weekend's Group One race.
Barry Mahon, the racing manager at Juddmonte, stated, “He’s been supplemented for the Tattersalls Gold Cup, so the plan is for him to run in Ireland. He’s a lightly-raced horse who has won his Group Three and rather than go back to Sandown to carry a penalty we thought we’d give him a crack at Group One and see just where his limitations lie. We’ll find out a bit more about him on Sunday.”
With Okeechobee's entry, there are now 11 competitors for the 10-furlong race. Auguste Rodin, the Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders' Cup winner from the previous season, is one of Aidan O'Brien's three possible runners, along with Hans Anderson and Luxembourg, the winner from the previous year.
Tuesday, the Ballydoyle handler reiterated that he planned to saddle Auguste Rodin. However, if the situation worsens, the plan may change.
He said: “That (running Auguste Rodin) is the plan, hopefully, they won’t get too much rain. That (Coronation Cup at Epsom) is the plan for Luxembourg, he was just left in for Sunday in case the ground came too soft for Auguste or something like that.”