O'Brien happy to bide time with Landofhope Joseph O'Brien has not yet firmed up future plans for Landofhopeandglory following his fine effort in defeat at the Punchestown Festival. The high-class Flat performer put an early marker down in the juvenile hurdling division last season by winning his first three starts over jumps. Although he has failed to add his tally since, he has performed creditably in defeat, including finishing fifth in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham and he ran his best race since the turn of the year when runner-up to Bapaume in Punchestown's Champion Four Year Old Hurdle. O'Brien said: "He ran a huge race and seems to have come out of it well. "I'm not sure whether we'll give him a break or keep him going during the summer for races like the Galway Hurdle. We'll see what the plan is." Landofhopeandglory was the standout performer during the fledgling trainer's first full National Hunt season with a training licence. The smart mare Slowmotion and novice chaser Edwulf were other notable contributors as he saddled almost 40 winners. Of his first jumps campaign, the ambitious O'Brien said: "We had a fairly good year, but you always want to do better. "We'll try our best to keep improving."
