White Birch is all set to return to action in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday week.

The five-year-old sat out of the major midsummer prizes because of the prevailing fast ground and has been restricted to only two runs so far this term.

Both came at the Curragh in May in which he chased home Los Angles in the Coolmore Stud City Of Troy Irish European Breeders Fund Mooresbridge Stakes and finished fourth behind the same rival after a troubled passage through the Tattersalls Gold Cup.

Assistant trainer George Murphy told Wednesday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast: “It’s all systems go to run.

“Back in the mid-summer we gave him a little bit of a break and just eased things up a little bit, a bit of a freshen up and have been building up to an autumn campaign since then. He’s training very well and is in great form.

“He doesn’t like the firm ground and there’s some lovely races at the end of the season so we said we’d aim for them and that’s the plan. Hopefully all will go well.”

Of the two starts this season, Murphy added: “I thought first run was a very good run, he battled hard and put it up to Los Angeles. We were very pleased with that but the second run didn’t really work out. He still ran with a lot of credit, and I don’t think he did anything wrong.”

The Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Troimphe is another key target for White Birch but connections feel they have him spot-on for the Leopardstown race.

“They’re both very important races, I think we have him very fit now and you’re not going to go into the Irish Champion thinking you’re not 100%. He’s as good as I can get him without having a run.

“We’d have probably liked one prep run before Leopardstown but it didn’t work out, the ground was very quick,” Murphy admitted.

“Both races have been the plan for a while and if he was to go close in either that would be great.”

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