Aidan O'Brien

Coolmore and Westerberg's 3-year-old colt Cairo (Ire) (Quality Road--Cuff {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}), a multiple Classic entry, justified long odds-on favouritism with a comfortable success in Friday's one-mile Listed Patton S. at Dundalk. The homebred bay followed up an August maiden win at the Curragh with a second in the Co. Louth venue's Sept. 30 Listed Star Appeal S. and closed his juvenile campaign with a 2 3/4-length triumph in October's G3 Killavullan S. at Leopardstown. The eventual winner, Aidan O'Brien's first domestic runner of the year, was sharply into...

Alberto Sanna had twice previously won Qatar's biggest and richest race, the HH The Amir Trophy, but he could not contain his emotions after putting a perfect steer on former Ballydoyle inmate and now Hong Kong-based Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) to take Saturday's US$2.5-million event in Doha. Sanna was himself part of the ultra-competitive collection of riders in Hong Kong for two seasons, but managed a strike rate of just 4.6%. To make matters worse, he was handed a 10-meeting suspension in late 2019 and his Hong Kong license...

Group winner Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has been leased to Jassim Mohamed J D Al-Darwish for his run in Saturday's His Highness The Amir Trophy in Qatar. A winner of the G3 Derby Trial at Leopardstown at three for a Coolmore partnership and Aidan O'Brien, the 4-year-old has placed three times at the highest level, including the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud at two, and the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. and GI Breeders' Cup Turf last year. He enters the 2400-metre event on the back of a fifth-place effort...

It's early-February and already the Flat enthusiasts are getting excited about what stallion will end the season as champion first-season sire. A futile exercise, one would have thought? Not a bit of it. Even the greatest handlers of young stock, Malcolm Bastard, Alan McCabe, Joseph O'Brien, Conor Hoban and Dick Brabazon, men who know better than most the folly that comes with predicting 2-year-old talent, are keen to have their say on which up-and-coming stallion can make the biggest splash this season.  O'Brien is sticking loyal to Ten Sovereigns (Ire)...

Defending G1 Dubai World Cup hero Country Grammer (Tonalist) is one of over 1,600 entries, including 892 individual horses from 21 countries, entered in the $30.5-million Dubai World Cup night card. The featured event, sponsored by Emirates Airline, attracted 171 entries. Of the 24 Group or Grade 1 winners besides the Zedan Racing-owned and Bob Baffert-trained Country Grammer, is the duo's three-time Grade I winner Taiba (Gun Runner). Joining them could be a pair of longshot headliners from last year; namely, GI Kentucky Derby champ Rich Strike (Keen Ice) and...

First job in the Thoroughbred industry? Pupil Assistant to Ian Williams. Biggest influence on your career? I've been lucky to get guidance and advice from many great people, Ian gave me a great chance at the start. More recently Joe Osborne and David Redvers have been great influences in different ways and I have to mention my colleague Nick Craven at Weatherbys. My family has also been very supportive of me working in racing. Favourite racehorse of all time, and why? Sea The Stars really was a huge favourite of...

A large part of the fun that comes with following racing and the bloodstock game is predicting the future. Who will win the Derby? Who might top the Orby Sale? What freshman sires are here to stay and which ones will drift into the abyss? Well, we've looked deep into the TDN Europe crystal ball for 2023 to see if we can come up with the answers to the burning questions for the year ahead. Enjoy! January If you think he had a good Christmas, wait until you see how...

First job in the Thoroughbred industry? I started riding for Stephane Cerulis during the summer holidays back in Belgium when I was aged 14. Biggest influence on your career? Criquette Head. She is like a second mum, the best advisor and most importantly she made me fall in love with training. Favourite racehorse of all time, and why? Treve. I was lucky enough to ride her while she was in training which was a fantastic experience. Who will be champion first-season sire in 2023? Blue Point. Greatest race in the...

Classic hero Milan (GB) (Sadler's Wells--Kithanga {Ire}, by Darshaan {GB}), died at Grange Stud on Wednesday, Dec. 21, Coolmore announced on Thursday. The 2019/20 Champion National Hunt Sire was 24. "Milan was a very good-natured horse and will be sadly missed by everyone here," said Catherine Magnier. "He was a wonderful servant providing top class horses year in year out." Bred by Fittocks Stud, Milan was bought by Demi O'Byrne for 650,000gns as a yearling at Tattersalls in 1999, and joined Aidan O'Brien's yard. Racing for Michael Tabor, he won...

His 22 career victories is an all-time record in Hong Kong racing history. His HK$116 million (£12.2 million/US$14.7 million) in career earnings makes him not only the richest racehorse to look through a bridle in the Special Administrative Region, but also one of the richest Thoroughbreds, ever. Stanley Chan's Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) can make even more history this Sunday when he starts a long odds-on proposition in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile, a victory in which will tie Good Ba Ba (Lear Fan) with three straight wins...

Aidan O'Brien is preparing a twin assault on the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase, a race he has won three times in the past, and Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) are set to represent the Ballydoyle maestro in Sunday's race. Globetrotting sensation Highland Reel (Ire) won the Hong Kong Vase in 2015 and 2017 before Mogul (GB) bolstered O'Brien's record in the race when landing the Group 1 contest in 2020. Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who tasted high level success on the international...

Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) will not make the trip to Hong Kong for Sunday week's G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400m), South China Morning Post reported Friday. Ninth to Japan's Loves Only Your (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in last year's G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup (2000m), the last of an eight-race campaign that saw him compete on three continents, the bay was given a chance to make a return trip to Hong Kong in the Listed Churchill S. at Lingfield Nov. 12, but he failed to shine, finishing fourth...