Aidan O'Brien

If you've had reason to chat to Stephen Hillen at the sales you will know that he's an agent who is measured to the point of coming across as though he has ice running through his veins. Had he and his wife Becky been at Epsom on Saturday to watch the horse they bred win the Derby they may have felt pretty icy, too, but sensibly they were watching from afar in the warmer climes of Mallorca.  To the suggestion that he doesn't let himself get carried away by too...

Try as they might - and by golly the good folk at Epsom tried - you can't hold back the rain. A day which should have dawned full of hope and expectation after so much attention to detail in improving the Derby Day experience instead brought black clouds and bluster across the Epsom Downs. Good for the farmers, not so for the frolickers. But no amount of rain could dampen the spirits of Tom and Kathleen Whelan, decked out in pink to support their son Ronan riding in the second...

In conditions more akin to the festive period then summertime at Epsom, Ballydoyle's Christmas Day mastered the gruelling test the 2026 G1 Betfred Derby became to provide Camelot with his first Blue Riband. The subject of increased support as every shower rained down on the Surrey venue, the 7-1 shot was sent forward by Ronan Whelan to race second from the outset and when committed in early straight galloped relentlessly to a 2 3/4-length success from Maltese Cross (Sea The Stars). Third was James J Braddock (Zarak), 2 1/2 lengths...

Coolmore and Westerberg's Endorsement (Wootton Bassett) attempted to make all and hit the board behind James J Braddock (Zarak) and Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) in last month's G3 Derby Trial at Leopardstown and boosted the hopes of those G1 Derby candidates with a seven-length romp in Thursday's Listed King George V Cup back at the Foxrock venue. "His form is solid, it was nice to see him running well and Ryan [Moore] was very happy with him," commented Aidan O'Brien. "We didn't know how far he'd stay because a mile-and-a-quarter is...

Saturday, Epsom Downs, post time: 16:00, THE BETFRED DERBY-G1, £2,000,000, 3yo, c/f, 12f 6yT Field: Action (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Alderman (GB) (Study Of Man {GB}), Ancient Egypt (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), A Taste Of Glory (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}), Balzac (Ger) (Japan {GB}), Bay Of Brilliance (GB) (New Bay {GB}), Benvenuto Cellini (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Christmas Day (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Item (GB) (Frankel {GB}), James J Braddock (GB) (Zarak {Fr}), Maltese Cross (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Pierre Bonnard (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Poker (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Rebel Rocker (GB) (Cityscape...

Aidan O'Brien annexed the last three editions of the Curragh's Sky Bet Club Irish EBF Maiden--with Amadeus Mozart, Henri Matisse and Unquestionable--and made it four in a row when Aix La Chapelle (Justify), a son of dual Group 1 winner Immortal Verse (Pivotal), pounced in the closing stages of the seven-furlong contest. "They were horses that we were getting out in case they were [Listed] Chesham horses and we're delighted with him," O'Brien commented. "They went along there and he did well as he was never away [from home] and...

Declarations for Epsom's G1 Betfred Derby and G1 Betfred Oaks were confirmed Wednesday morning with 14 standing their ground for Saturday's Blue Riband and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Precise (Starspangledbanner) the only notable absentee from Friday's Oaks. Last month's G3 Chester Vase winner Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) is joined by Aidan O'Brien stablemates Action (Frankel), Christmas Day (Camelot) and Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) as the trainer seeks to enhance his record haul of 11 in the Derby. Other leading contenders Ancient Egypt (Frankel), Bay Of Brilliance (New Bay), Maltese Cross (Sea...

Aidan O'Brien's seven-strong Betfred Derby team is headed by Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) as 17 horses were left standing for the Epsom Classic at the latest forfeit stage on Monday. It was Dee Stakes winner Constitution River that led home an O'Brien-trained one-two-three in the French Derby at Chantilly on Sunday. Fellow Chester scorer Benvenuto Cellini is joined by Pierre Bonnard (Camelot), Action (Frankel), Causeway (Wootton Bassett), Endorsement (Wootton Bassett), Christmas Day (Camelot) and Proposition (Frankel) at the five-day stage. Although holding an exceptional hand once again in a race he...

Aidan O'Brien left Chantilly on Sunday having created a legacy performance of training as he did here in the Arc several years ago after Constitution River led home Hawk Mountain and Montreal for a Team Ballydoyle G1 Qatar Prix du Jockey Club one-two-three. MV Magnier was on hand to pay tribute to the combined expertise of the master of Ballydoyle and Ryan Moore. "In fairness to Aidan, he was pretty confident coming here even though he was worried about the draw for Constitution River," he said. "Ryan gave him a...

For 60 days straight over the winter at Will Walden's Palm Meadows base in Florida, MGISW Rhetorical (Not This Time) underwent a different kind of training. Instead of being turned out for the off-season like so many horses, his trainer decided that it was time to unveil a new project where skills like dressage would be emphasized. The work that the gelding put in over those months has paid off and now the New York-bred Horse of the Year owned by Gary Barber, Cheyenne Stable and Wachtel Stable will point...

Donnacha O'Brien can't recall the exact details of his earliest Breeders' Cup memories, but he does have a vague recollection of parading around the racecourse sporting a cowboy hat. That presumably would have been during the 2004 World Championship meet held at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, when O'Brien was just six years old. That year, his father Aidan saddled Mile runner-up Antonius Pius (Danzig) and Turf third-placed Powerscourt (Sadler's Wells). "We've been going to the Breeders' Cup since we were literally kids," O'Brien recalled. "The whole family....

At the culmination of the battle of the Ballydoyle starlets in Sunday's G1 Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas, there was a dramatic if not entirely unexpected turnaround of this month's Newmarket Classic form as Precise (Starspangledbanner) held sway in some style at The Curragh. As last year's Fillies' Mile and Moyglare winner swooped on True Love (No Nay Never) en route to an emphatic 2 1/2-length success, she put her 1,000 Guineas eclipse firmly behind her to complete a remarkable weekend Classic double for her initially subfertile sire and make it...