Joseph O'Brien

Few stables could deal with losing Thundering On from the G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks picture on the morning of the race, but Joseph O'Brien brushed off that disappointment, saddled Johanna Walsh (Sea The Stars) and enjoyed a clear-cut win regardless. Proving more than an able deputy for the Oaks heroine when registering a four-length success in the Curragh Classic, Wells Watson's Ribblesdale runner-up who was purchased for €460,000 at Goffs Orby Book 1 by Andrew Cary was adding more stardust to her trainer's already stellar campaign. "It was unreal," Dylan...

Shapoor Mistry's Oaks heroine Thundering On (Frankel) has been withdrawn from  Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks at The Curragh. Reportedly off her feed on the morning of the Classic, her absence means that Wathnan's Ribblesdale winner Earth Shot (Time Test) is the likely favourite, with Dylan Browne McMonagle also likely to switch to Joseph O'Brien's second-string Johanna Walsh (Sea The Stars) who was second behind that William Haggas-trained rival at Royal Ascot.  

   Deep into the summer of 2026, one of the big stories so far has been the hegemony of the O'Briens and while that could easily continue this weekend, the G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks is far from certain to follow recent trends. Joseph has three in the Curragh mile-and-a-half Classic and Aidan has five, so it is a clear case of numerical superiority as well as having the right material with Owning Hill represented by the scintillating Oaks heroine Thundering On (Frankel). However, the trio that arrive in Kildare to...

Jaber Abdullah's Star Of State (State Of Rest) shaped with a deal of promise when runner-up at Fairyhouse last week and the Joseph O'Brien-trained G2 Debutante nominee was an odds-on chance to break through in Thursday's Irish EBF Median Sires Series Maiden at Leopardstown. The €85,000 Tattersalls Ireland September graduate did just that, and then some, when outclassing 10 rivals in hugely impressive fashion to become her Rathbarry Stud-based first-crop sire's second winner and first TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard. "We liked her going to Fairyhouse, we were very...

Shapoor Mistry's Oaks heroine Thundering On (Frankel) will face 10 rivals as she bids for a Classic double in Saturday's G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks at The Curragh. Disappointing when only fourth in the Pretty Polly last month, the Joseph O'Brien-trained homebred is joined by stablemates Johanna Walsh (Sea The Stars), the Ribblesdale runner-up who races for Wells Watson, and Rebel Moon (Lope De Vega) who defends an unbeaten record for Al Shira'aa Racing after taking the Jannah Rose Stakes. In total, the O'Briens have eight runners with Aidan saddling a quintet...

Lindy Farms' Queen of Hawaii (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) split horses decisively deep inside the final furlong to defeat a stakes-quality field in her first start since finishing an even seventh in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last Halloween. A Leopardstown maiden winner at second asking for Joseph O'Brien last July, the €250,000 Goffs Orby graduate took out the G3 Irish EBF Stakes at the Curragh the following month, accounting for--among others--future Group 3 winner and recent G1 Investec Oaks third Sugar Island (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Settled behind midfield...

He's the one that the normally uneffusive Ryan Moore describes as "rare" and "special" and "exciting" and perhaps the one of all the Coolmore contingent that has really captured the public imagination. In the wake of Wootton Bassett's sad and untimely demise, Constitution River has stepped forward to illuminate the potency of his sire with a Classic triumph against all the odds. Heading to Sandown's G1 Coral-Eclipse on Saturday a Classic winner against all the odds, he has that untouchable air and the confidence of the biggest stable in world...

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,...

Shapoor Mistry's G1 Oaks heroine Thundering On (Frankel) will face nine rivals in Saturday's G1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh after declarations for the Paddy Power-sponsored 10-furlong contest were confirmed Thursday morning. The Joseph O'Brien trainee will depart from stall seven, which also housed last year's victrix Whirl (Wootton Bassett) and Mistry's O'Brien-trained 2021 winner Thundering Nights (Night Of Thunder). She will be partnered by Dylan Browne McMonagle and accompanied by Carriganog stablemates Wemightakedlongway (Australia), runner-up in last year's G1 Irish Oaks, and Nyra (Isfahan), who ran third in...

Coming into Wednesday's G3 Al Shira'aa Racing Irish EBF Jannah Rose Stakes the least experienced with the most to prove, the sponsors' Rebel Moon (Lope De Vega) took the leap forward to add serious ballast to Joseph O'Brien's team of fillies. Representing one of the most in-form stables in Europe, the 500,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase who had scored over nine furlongs on debut at Gowran in April waited behind Ballydoyle's Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Cameo (Wootton Bassett) and the Naas Oaks Trial winner Caught U Sleeping (Cotai Glory)...

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...