Aidan O’Brien 400 Up – Top 5 Greatest Ballydoyle Horses
Aidan O’Brien is a living legend in racing circles, the Irishman having recently celebrated an incredible 400th Group 1 winner as Auguste Rodin bagged the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
O’Brien was crowned leading trainer at Royal Ascot yet again, the 13th time he has managed that feat in his career and he now has 85 winners at the most prestigious Flat meeting of them all.
Here, we look at our top 5 horses trained by the Master of Ballydoyle, Aidan O’Brien.
Galileo
It would be impossible to compile this list without starting with the great Galileo, winner of the English and Irish Derby in 2001. He only raced once as a 2YO, winning his maiden at Leopardstown over a mile on testing ground, but stormed all before him in his Classic season.
Aidan O’Brien had a pair of Leopardstown successes before dispatching his Epsom rivals with disdain under Mick Kinane in the Derby and he added the Curragh version in similarly striking style.
He then beat his elders in the King George at Ascot and was carried out on his sword in the Irish Champion Stakes, as Fantastic Light handed him the first defeat in his career on his final start in Europe. Galileo finished his career unplaced in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Belmont in October.
Yeats
No list of Aidan O’Brien stars can be compiled without mention of Yeats, the record four-time Ascot Gold Cup hero.
He dominated the race from 2006 until 2009 and his achievements remain unmatched. O’Brien has gone on to win the Gold Cup nine times, including this year with Kyprios, who became only the third horse to regain the crown, but Yeats will forever retain a special place in the history books.
A resolute galloper, he didn’t always have a lot to spare, but few were as iron-willed as the son of Saddler’s Wells.
Istabraq
A rare National Hunt star for O’Brien, Istabraq won three successive Champion Hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival for his trainer and leading owner JP McManus from 1998-2000.
He was only the fifth three-time winner of the two-mile Championship contest in its great history and remains the most recent horse to manage it.
He won 23 of his 29 races over hurdles but, like so many great jumps champions, there was a fallible nature to him. He fell twice around Leopardstown and was pulled up in his final start when bidding for an historic fourth Cheltenham win in 2002. Despite that, he remained a darling of the racing public.
Camelot
One accolade that eludes Aidan O’Brien is Britain’s Triple Crown – the feat of winning the 1000 or 2000 Guineas, the Oaks or Derby and the St Leger in the same season.
It hasn’t been done since Nijinsky back in 1970 but the closest any horse has come was O’Brien’s Camelot in 2012. Winner of the Group 1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster in 2011, Camelot was still unbeaten following the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Epsom Derby and the Irish version at Curragh in 2012.
Back to Town Moor he went and he was 2/5 to bag the St Leger but Encke – a 25/1 shot for Coolmore’s rivals Godolphin – made him settle for second-best and O’Brien hasn’t got to Doncaster for another Triple Crown tilt since.
Found
Any number of the 400 Group 1 winners could be included but we finish with Found, the only filly on our list and a daughter of Galileo.
She ‘only’ won six of her 21 career starts but they included Group 1s in France, Ireland and America.
In October 2016, she won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe under Ryan Moore, leading some stablemates Highland Reel and Order Of St George as O’Brien incredibly enjoyed a one-two-three in Europe’s pre-eminent middle distance contest.
Even by his incredibly lofty standards, that is a feat that will take some matching.
By Tom McGarry
Please note that the information provided in this article is for entertainment purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided. Any action you take upon the information on this article is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our article. We do not encourage gambling and remind you to gamble responsibly.
18+ | BeGambleAware.org
Supercharge your bets with kwiff.
