Aidan O'Brien

Epsom's G1 Derby hero Christmas Day (Camelot) will face seven rivals in Sunday's G1 Irish Derby at the Curragh after declarations were confirmed Thursday morning. The Aidan O'Brien trainee will depart from stall six, with the last winner to have emerged from that draw being Hurricane Run (Montjeu) in 2005. He will be partnered once again by Ronan Whelan and accompanied by stablemates Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel), controversially announced as a non-runner at Epsom and the selection of Ryan Moore, Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) and Action (Frankel). They have drawn stalls eight,...

Joseph O'Brien says he is confident that James J Braddock (Zarak) will give Epsom conqueror Christmas Day (Camelot) more than something to think about as the pair face off again in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday. The Leopardstown Derby Trial winner threatened to boil over pre-race on the Surrey Downs but performed admirably to finish third, beaten five and a quarter lengths by Christmas Day, who provided Aidan O'Brien with his 12th win in the Epsom Classic. Fresh from saddling five winners at Royal...

The leading owner, trainer, and jockey awards were presented to Coolmore, Aidan O'Brien, and Ryan Moore, respectively, at the conclusion of the 2026 Royal Ascot meeting following a banner week for connections. Various Coolmore partnerships that included Sue Magnier, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor, Westerberg, Peter Brant and Cayton Park Stud saw the group make eight trips to the winner's enclosure--a record total since the leading owner award was introduced in 2017. The senior O'Brien, collecting his 14th leading trainer title at Royal Ascot, was responsible for seven of Coolmore's winners...

Under direct threat from Joseph for the Royal Ascot trainers' title following the preceding Sandringham, O'Brien Sr answered in the only way he knows how by saddling another Royal Ascot winner in Causeway (Wootton Bassett). Heavily-backed for Friday's G2 King Edward VII Stakes despite tackling a mile and a half for the first time, the colt who had followed the "Paddington route" of the Madrid and Tetrarch before diverting off it to the Gallinule was able to win another battle and stretch his unbeaten sequence this term. This time it was...

An interrupted preparation was a mitigating factor when Precise (Starspangledbanner) blotted her copybook in the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, but the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine was in no mood for succumbing to outside influences as Ryan Moore got the selection right in Friday's G1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. Moore was an embedded observer in seventh as True Love (No Nay Never) found glory at HQ and was aboard that stablemate when Precise gained redemption at the Curragh last month. "She was a little bit slow away, but...

The King must by now be on pretty friendly terms with Aidan O'Brien, the trainer who has spent more time than any in his counting house. On Tuesday he handed him the trainer's prize for the five-furlong sprint named in His Majesty's honour and 48 hours later another was dished out for the longest Group 1 race run in Britain. The Gold Cup, with its 219-year history, is also one of the most cherished races of the week. In these eyes it ranks above all others, and a huge portion...

In one of the very finest of Gold Cups, Scandinavia (Justify) ousted Trawlerman (Golden Horn) to provide a fitting crowning moment for Aidan O'Brien as the Ballydoyle maestro reached 100 Royal Ascot winners. Coming of age in the race that draws unusual sentiment, the 11-8 favourite needed every yard of the two-and-a-half mile trip to wear down the Gosdens' gallant title-holder and for most of it looked unlikely to do so. But, with Ryan Moore at his formidable best, Scandinavia got it done very late to add suitable drama and...

Aidan O'Brien had not won the G2 Queen Mary Stakes until subsequent G1 1000 Guineas heroine True Love (No Nay Never) prevailed last year and the Ballydoyle maestro edged closer to a century of Royal Ascot winners when TDN Rising Star Victorious (Wootton Bassett), who is blind in one eye, produced a telling burst in the closing stages of the five-furlong contest to provide the trainer with a 99th Royal winner. "She's incredible, we knew she was very classy and we've always felt that she'd be very good," O'Brien said....

They walked around the paddock one behind the other, like a little brother following his big brother around. The swaggering Gstaad led the more demure Bow Echo, looking as though at least a year separated them in age.  But when the time came to tussle there was no brotherly love lost as the pair fought with each stride to the line, delivering the battle royal we had hoped to see but perhaps had not dared to dream would happen. Whichever way the photo went, a Guineas winner would be crowned...

Aidan O'Brien's Group 1 resume at Royal Ascot had yet to include the G1 King Charles III Stakes and the Ballydoyle maestro completed the set when Ryan Moore produced the gelded three-year-old Mission Central (No Nay Never) fast and late to follow up Great Barrier Reef's Coventry success and secure a quickfire double for his sire in the five-furlong charge. The race is a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland in the autumn. "They went hard, which suited him, and Ryan [Moore] gave...

After taking up the rare position of bystander for the Queen Anne, Aidan O'Brien was back in business two races into Royal Ascot 2026 as Great Barrier Reef (No Nay Never) conquered the G2 Coventry Stakes. Partnered by Wayne Lordan with Ryan Moore on the sire's Confucius, the 6-1 shot who had taken the Marble Hill last month navigated his path from stall three far away from the stands' side to bring up a 12th renewal of the race that launched the trainer at the meeting in 1997. "Confucius is...

Whatever the week ahead at Royal Ascot brings, there is one certainty and that is Aidan O'Brien stretching what's possible even further from the centre. Let's get this out of the way first; the current master of Ballydoyle will undeniably form his own one-man club at some point over the next five days with his 100th Royal winner. It is a club so exclusive that it will likely see no other member for decades, with the County Wexford-born nonpareil still a relative youth in the training ranks. Ironically, his shortest-priced...