Crambo is set to seek redemption in the Jrl Group Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree following his disappointing performance in the Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The seven-year-old went into the Festival as the leading hope for Britain in the day three feature, having previously defeated Paisley Park to claim Grade One honours in the Long Walk Hurdle before Christmas.
Under the guidance of Jonathan Burke, Crambo started at odds of 7-1. However, he struggled with his hurdling and finished a distant ninth, trailing the race winner Teahupoo by 15 lengths.
Confident before the race, trainer O'Brien is now puzzled by Crambo's performance and plans to conduct post-race assessments before attempting to get back on track at Merseyside on Grand National Day.
O'Brien stated, "We had no excuses really and Johnny said he felt great for the first half of the race and then just down the back for the second time he just felt like he just came back underneath him a little bit. We can’t really find out why, so we will run some tests on him and see where we are. I was delighted with him going into the race, so it will be a bit of a headscratcher, but we’ll keep trying. He’ll go to Aintree."