November 2018 – Page 10

Aidan O’Brien

Aidan Patrick O’Brien became the youngest trainer in Ireland when, at the tender age of 26, he accepted the job of succeeding the erstwhile Master of Ballydoyle, Vincent O’Brien, in 1996. However, as private trainer to Irish business magnate John Magnier and his Coolmore Stud associates, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith – to whom, collectively, O’Brien affectionately refers as ‘the lads’ – he has enjoyed phenomenal success.

O’Brien quickly established himself as one of the leading trainers, not just in Ireland, but in the world. He became Irish Champion Flat trainer, in terms of prize money won, for the first time in 1999, with 102 winners and €2.02 million in total prize money and has retained the title in every season since. In 2017, he enjoyed his most successful season so far, in pecuniary terms, with €6.61 million in total prize money and broke the world record, previously held by the late Bobby Frankel, for Group 1 or Grade 1 winners in a single season, with 28. True to form, in 2018 he did better still, in monetary terms, with €6.81 million in total prize money and smashed another record, this time for the number of winners trained in an Irish Flat season, which previously stood at 139.

All in all, O’Brien has saddled over 300 Group 1 winners, obviously far too many to mention individually, but he has also been British Champion Flat trainer on six occasions, in 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2016 and 2017, and has an enviable record in British Classic races. His total haul of 32 victories is made of nine in the 2,000 Guineas, four in the 1,000 Guineas, six in the Derby, seven in the Oaks and six in the St. Leger. At the time of writing, he is also the third most successful trainer in the history of the Breeders’ Cup with 12 winners to his name, while other worldwide victories include the Cox Plate, Canadian International, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Hong Kong Vase and Arlington Million, to name but a few.

Racecourses

York Racecourse

Set in the picturesque city of York, in North Yorkshire, York racecourse is one of the UK’s top racecourses attracting hundreds of thousands of racing fans annually. The city is steeped in history and that history extends of horse racing, with races in nearby Forest of Galtres that can be traced back as early as 1590, and to this actual racecourse in the 1730s.

York racecourse hosts three of the yearly group one races ( Juddmonte International Stakes, the Nunthorpe Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks) as well as the ever popular Ebor Handicap, which has £500,000 prize money and takes place in August of each year. Also taking place in August as part of the same Ebor Festival, The International Stakes, for three year olds and over, has been won by such giants of racing as equine icon Frankel in 2012 and Roaring Lion in 2018.

The racecourse used to have a distinctive horsehsoe shape to it, but in 2005 it was extended and is now a full round course. The change took place on account of the Ascot Gold Cup moving to York for that particular year due to redevelopments taking place. York racecourse regularly places highly in Favourite Racecourse polls.

Owners

Shadwell Racing

During his time studying in the UK, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Deputy Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates), developed a love of racing. With understandably very deep pockets he set up his first stables here in 1981. As they say ‘the rest is history’ and his involvement in the sport has branched out in all directions since, with 8 stud farms (Nunnery Stud, Beech House Stud, Shadwell Farm in the US etc) and countless top mares and stallions. The operation as a whole is called Shadwell Racing.

His successes in the sport are in no short supply, and first came in a big way with Nashwan in the 80s (who was based at the Nunnery Stud). American-bred, British-trained Nashwan had major wins in the 2000 Guineas, Autumn Stakes, Epsom Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Champion jockey Willie Carson no doubt had a hand in these successes during that period of time.

Major wins at home and abroad soon followed as did Champion Owner titles, with British flat racing Champion Owner titles no less than four times. This should come as no surprise considering Al Maktoum’s operation has now has over 50 group one wins in Europe. With hundreds of horses in training in the UK trained by many of the top trainers of the day (Michael Stoure, Ed Dunlop, John Gosden etc) it’s no wonder that the wins just keep on coming.

Outside of Europe one of the biggest successes for Shadwell Racing has to be their purchase of Invasor who won US horse of the year and several major races including the Breeder’s Cup Classic in 2006.

Owners

J. P. McManus

To most fans of National Hunt racing, on either side of the Irish Sea, John Patrick ‘J.P.’ McManus requires little introduction. The Limerick-born billionaire – estimated to be worth over €2 billion – is the largest owner in the sport and his racing colours, green and gold hoops, ‘borrowed’ from South Liberties, a Gaelic Athletic Association club in his home county, are a familiar sight to racegoers.

Christened the ‘Sundance Kid’ by one British journalist, McManus enjoys a reputation as a feared, but fearless, gambler. His first winner at the Cheltenham Festival was Mister Donovan, trained by Edward O’Grady, in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle in 1982. In the intervening four decades, he has added a further 52 victories, making him far and away the most successful owner in the history of the Cheltenham Festival.

In terms of the Leading Trainer Award at The Festival, in recent years McManus has had to play second fiddle to Gigginstown House Stud, owned by another Irish billionaire, Michael O’Leary, but remains a ‘force majeure’ at Prestbury Park and elsewhere. Of the four main ‘championship’ races run at the Festival, McManus has won the Champion Hurdle seven times, with Istabraq (1998, 1999 and 2000), Binocular (2010), Jezki (2014) and Buveir D’Air (2017 and 2018), the Stayers’ Hurdle three times, with Baracouda (2002 and 2003) and More Of That (2014), and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, with Syncronised (2012).

Away from Cheltenham, McManus also won the Grand National in 2010 with Don’t Push It, who famously provided Sir A.P. McCoy with his one and only winner of the celebrated steeplechase at the fifteenth attempt. Down the years, McManus has won over a hundred Grade 1 races, including the Hennessy Gold Cup at Punchestown, the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown, the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle and Aintree Hurdle, to name but a select handful.