Joseph O'Brien

Sunday's G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes at The Curragh had a more open look to it than the betting suggested beforehand and that proved the case as the Joseph O'Brien-trained outsider Scorthy Champ (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}--Fidaaha {Ire}, by New Approach {Ire}) stepped up to earn the bragging rights. Third behind this race's favourite Henri Matisse (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) on his second start over this course and seven-furlong trip in the G2 Futurity Stakes last month, the 12-1 shot who had won on debut at Leopardstown in May raced...

Black Forza (Complexity), the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Sunday's $1 million National Thoroughbred League Juvenile Sprint Stakes at Kentucky Downs, had some new visitors Saturday morning at the barn area at Kentucky Downs. Jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle and owner Eleanora Kennedy were there to fetch a look at the colt, who has won two of his first three starts - the first two in Ireland and the third, the G2 Markel Richmond Stakes at Goodwood. Lauren Faulkner, assistant to trainer Michael O'Callaghan, has been with Black Forza since he got...

For the last several years, Kentucky Downs has been the track that had almost everything. Big fields, huge purses and a betting handle that increases exponentially every year. But one thing has largely been missing--European shippers. Despite an all-turf meet, the purses and the fact that Kentucky Downs is much like a European turf course, the meet hadn't really registered with European horsemen. That has changed. According to Martin Panza, the co-director of racing at Kentucky Downs, which kicks off its annual seven-day meet Thursday, as many as 16 European-based...

Joseph O'Brien trainee Apples And Bananas (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Simannka {Ire}, by Mastercraftsman {Ire}) followed up a June 29 debut sixth at the Curragh with a breakthrough score at Killarney last month and continued on the upgrade with a career high in Saturday's Listed Criterium du Fonds Europeen de l'Elevage at Deauville. Breaking well to assert for an early lead, the 2-1 favourite was comfortable on the front end until coming under pressure in the straight and kept on strongly under continued rousting inside the final 300 metres to withstand...

All the rage beforehand, Mojave River (Fr) (Mohaather {GB}--Quintessenz {Ger}, by Soldier Hollow {GB}) fared best of the debutantes contesting Thursday's valuable Arqana Series Des Pouliches at Deauville. Sent to the fore from the outset by Maxime Guyon, the Joseph O'Brien-trained 28-10 favourite asserted her superiority in the final furlong to score by two lengths from Bogota (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Mojave River, who qualified for this incentive by selling for €17,000 at the 2022 Arqana December Breeding Stock Sale, becomes the ninth winner for her first-season sire. https://twitter.com/i/status/1824055608783331730

Legendary Japanese reinsman Yutaka Take will be aboard Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, according to Japan's NetKeiba publication. Now owned by Masaaki Matsushima and the Al Riffa Syndicate, the 4-year-old colt claimed the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten in their colours on Aug. 11. Take will be making his 11th attempt in the storied contest, and first since Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) in 2022. Matsushima was also involved in the ownership of the latter. "I received an...

Proving that the mile-and-a-half trip holds no fears, Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Love On My Mind {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) made his first start in the Masaaki Matsushima silks a resoundingly impressive one as he got back on the group 1-winning trail in Sunday's Grosser Preis von Berlin. Always happy in the box seat under Dylan Browne McMonagle, the Joseph O'Brien-trained Arc hopeful stayed on powerfully to take control 300 metres from the finish and stormed to a five-length success from Narrativo (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), with Best Of Lips...

Finding his true trip at Deauville on Sunday, the Joseph O'Brien-trained Cowardofthecounty (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}--Hawaajib {Fr}, by Elusive City) turned around recent fortunes to gain a first black-type success in the opening seven-furlong G3 Prix Francois Boutin. Running below expectations when seventh in the G2 Coventry Stakes and G3 Anglesey Stakes having made such a big impression on debut when beating Whistlejacket (Ire) (No Nay Never) at The Curragh in April, the colt who represents Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables, Tracy Farmer and John Oxley was again sluggish away from...

Group 1 winner Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) will race for the Al Riffa Syndicate and Masaaki Matsushima beginning in Sunday's G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin. The Joseph O'Brien trainee's long-term goal remains the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Matsushima has already enjoyed some success in Europe as the part-owner of G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}). The 4-year-old won the G1 National Stakes at two, and added runner-up finishes in both the G3 International S. and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano. Fourth in the...

In a season that has seen Ambiente Friendly (Ire), Calandagan (GB) and Mill Stream (GB) fly his flag, Gleneagles (Ire) looks a sire coming good and Monday's card at Killarney witnessed one who could easily enhance his reputation further in the Joseph O'Brien trainee Galen (GB). Off the mark by nine lengths in a mile maiden that looked to lack depth at The Curragh last month, the flashy chestnut looked in a hurry to prove that he is the real deal with an emphatic 11-length follow-up to earn TDN Rising...

For the second consecutive year, the winner of the $600,000 GI Saratoga Derby Invitational at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 3 will receive an invitation to the A$5 million G1 Ladbrokes Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in Melbourne, Australia, according to a New York Racing Association release Monday. The winning connections of this year's Saratoga Derby, which was established in 2019 and is contested over 1 3/16 miles [1900 meters], will be afforded an automatic berth into the 2024 Ladbrokes Cox Plate, with subsidies for transportation and accommodation. In 2021, Joseph...

   The X-Ray Files series, now in its second year and presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders' Association, uses conversations with buyers and sellers to contribute to the discussion on the sales and training process. Joseph O'Brien, the son of legendary trainer Aidan O'Brien, has steadily built up an impressive reputation of his own, first as a jockey with 31 top-level wins worldwide and now as a trainer with Group 1 wins from Ireland to Australia, France, England and the U.S. O'Brien became the youngest jockey to win...