Vincent O'Brien

The Irish diaspora in the Bluegrass has lost one of its foundation stones with the death last Sunday of Roger ("Roddy") O'Byrne, who presided for many years at McCarthy's Bar in downtown Lexington. O'Byrne, together with co-proprietor Peter Kiely, made their bar an institution not just for local horsemen but for the international bloodstock community. During an era when phoney "themed" bars round the world sought to exploit the national tradition of good craic, O'Byrne created a little piece of home for those compatriots of his own generation who served...

Former Irish Champion Flat Jockey and two-time Classic-winning rider Tommy Murphy died at a hospital in Cashel on Wednesday. A rider and later an assistant trainer to the late Vincent O'Brien, he was 88. Murphy rode his first winner in 1954 in Ireland and spent six years riding in England before beginning a 10-year stint with Clem Magnier in Co Meath. Successful twice in the Galway Hurdle and also at the Cheltenham Festival, he joined O'Brien's stable in 1974. His brace of Classic scorers were in 1977--Lady Capulet (Sir Ivor)...

Fifty years ago this spring John Magnier moved into Coolmore Stud ahead of the now infamous and audacious annual raids on the Kentucky yearling market. At the Keeneland July Select Sale of 1975, Magnier, along with the esteemed trainer Vincent O'Brien and key ally Robert Sangster, started their recruitment drive of what O'Brien described as "baby stallions".  In his biography, O'Brien stated, "We would try and turn the tide: we would organise a syndicate to buy yearlings which I would train, and from which we could make our own stallions."...

Paintings by Jack Butler Yeats, from the collection of Vincent and Jacqueline O'Brien, are to be sold at auction at Adam's in Dublin, Ireland on Wednesday, December 4. Among the highlights from the collection is The Horsemen, which was painted in 1947 and has an estimated worth of €500,000--€800,000. Stuart Cole, managing director of Adam's, said, "This auction joins together two legendary Irish figures of the 20th century--Ireland's greatest painter, painting his favorite subject, horses, and one of the all-time greatest Irish horse trainers and breeders, together in a once-in-a-generation...

Needless to say, all four tried to reject their billing. Between them, after all, they have spent the better part of three centuries dealing with that vehicle of humility, the Thoroughbred. To everyone else present, however, the opportunity to tap into the experience of four such sages as Bill Landes, Frank Penn, Tom Thornbury and John Williams fully justified the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club in promoting their latest meeting in Lexington as "An Evening with Legends." Each, moreover, could be consoled that one of the first tasks addressed--an acknowledgement...

On the 15th anniversary of the passing of Vincent O'Brien, his successor at Ballydoyle, Aidan O'Brien, extended his record at Epsom to 10 wins in the Derby. Vincent O'Brien's daughter and son-in-law Sue and John Magnier were not at Epsom on Saturday but several of the late, great trainer's grandchildren were in the winner's circle to greet City Of Troy. Their own family is now so strongly enmeshed with the man who shares their grandfather's surname but is no relation to the creator of Ballydoyle. Just like City Of Troy,...

Coolmore's John Magnier was the recipient of the 2022 Peter O'Sullevan Award and was celebrated at the 25th edition of the Peter O'Sullevan Annual Award Lunch in London on Thursday. The 74-year-old received his award from JP McManus at Coolmore, as he was not present at the lunch. "I don't deserve it, but I'm happy to get it," Magnier told ITV Racing anchor Ed Chamberlin in an interview, which was played during the ceremony. "I'm blown away by it, really." Magnier spoke in favour of racing's various factions coming together...

There's plenty going on in the world at present, including in Great Britain with the daily-changing tragi-comic farce which masquerades as domestic politics.  We're definitely not in the 'silly season' in which news editors have to look far and wide, including to the back pages, to find the front-page leads.  Within the sports' pages racing no longer holds its prime position of yesteryear, and when the Cazoo Derby is run at Epsom this Saturday, it will have to fight for its few column inches in the national press. Under the...

Coolmore boss John Magnier has led the tributes to one of the sport's biggest icons, the legendary nine-time Derby-winning jockey Lester Piggott, who he labelled as "the greatest" following his death at the age of 86. Piggott rode his first Derby victory for former Ballydoyle boss, the late Vincent O'Brien, in 1968 aboard Sir Ivor. They combined to win the race four times together, including with Nijinsky (Can) in 1970, Roberto in 1972 and The Minstrel (Can), for whom the colt's owner Robert Sangster, Piggott was then contracted to ride...

The betting for the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas suggests that Godolphin has a very strong hand for Europe's early Classics, with Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) a solid favourite and Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) a clear second pick. However, such strength in depth brings its own complications. The European calendar boasts three principal Guineas races (chronologically, in Great Britain, France and Ireland) and the obvious aspiration when one has the two most likely candidates is to win all three.  It is a tough, albeit not impossible, assignment for one horse alone,...

While the ever-resilient bloodstock industry barely flinched in the face of a global pandemic--the return of sky-high prices in the sales ring testament to that--the travel industry slowed to a grinding halt. However, with the news that--whisper it--the world has fully reopened, there's never been a better time to dust off the suitcase and begin planning trips away again. And if it's Ireland you're thinking of, Tipperary might just have the answer, for waiting patiently in the starting stalls is John Magnier's most exciting new prospect. We're not talking about...

The late Vincent O'Brien, a master trainer on the Flat and over jumps, is the first of his profession to be inducted to the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. His name was announced along with three equine stars of the 1970s, Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Brigadier Gerard (GB). Marking the 10th anniversary of QIPCO's sponsorship of the British Champions Series, the Hall of Fame was launched in May with the inaugural inductees Lester Piggott and Frankel (GB). During an illustrious career, O'Brien notched 141 Group 1 wins, with...