Joseph O'Brien

Proving that the mile-and-a-half trip holds no fears, Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}--Love On My Mind {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) made his first start in the Masaaki Matsushima silks a resoundingly impressive one as he got back on the group 1-winning trail in Sunday's Grosser Preis von Berlin. Always happy in the box seat under Dylan Browne McMonagle, the Joseph O'Brien-trained Arc hopeful stayed on powerfully to take control 300 metres from the finish and stormed to a five-length success from Narrativo (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), with Best Of Lips...

Finding his true trip at Deauville on Sunday, the Joseph O'Brien-trained Cowardofthecounty (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}--Hawaajib {Fr}, by Elusive City) turned around recent fortunes to gain a first black-type success in the opening seven-furlong G3 Prix Francois Boutin. Running below expectations when seventh in the G2 Coventry Stakes and G3 Anglesey Stakes having made such a big impression on debut when beating Whistlejacket (Ire) (No Nay Never) at The Curragh in April, the colt who represents Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables, Tracy Farmer and John Oxley was again sluggish away from...

Group 1 winner Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) will race for the Al Riffa Syndicate and Masaaki Matsushima beginning in Sunday's G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin. The Joseph O'Brien trainee's long-term goal remains the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Matsushima has already enjoyed some success in Europe as the part-owner of G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}). The 4-year-old won the G1 National Stakes at two, and added runner-up finishes in both the G3 International S. and G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano. Fourth in the...

In a season that has seen Ambiente Friendly (Ire), Calandagan (GB) and Mill Stream (GB) fly his flag, Gleneagles (Ire) looks a sire coming good and Monday's card at Killarney witnessed one who could easily enhance his reputation further in the Joseph O'Brien trainee Galen (GB). Off the mark by nine lengths in a mile maiden that looked to lack depth at The Curragh last month, the flashy chestnut looked in a hurry to prove that he is the real deal with an emphatic 11-length follow-up to earn TDN Rising...

For the second consecutive year, the winner of the $600,000 GI Saratoga Derby Invitational at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 3 will receive an invitation to the A$5 million G1 Ladbrokes Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in Melbourne, Australia, according to a New York Racing Association release Monday. The winning connections of this year's Saratoga Derby, which was established in 2019 and is contested over 1 3/16 miles [1900 meters], will be afforded an automatic berth into the 2024 Ladbrokes Cox Plate, with subsidies for transportation and accommodation. In 2021, Joseph...

   The X-Ray Files series, now in its second year and presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders' Association, uses conversations with buyers and sellers to contribute to the discussion on the sales and training process. Joseph O'Brien, the son of legendary trainer Aidan O'Brien, has steadily built up an impressive reputation of his own, first as a jockey with 31 top-level wins worldwide and now as a trainer with Group 1 wins from Ireland to Australia, France, England and the U.S. O'Brien became the youngest jockey to win...

You can keep your fashionistas, foodies, royal processions and Group 1 races. Give me the scenes that followed the success of Crystal Black (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes any day of the week instead.  Win, lose or draw, the Wear A Pink Ribbon Syndicate who own Crystal Black came to Ascot for a party. Boy did their rapidly progressive gelding provide them with something to celebrate and the scenes that followed his success for the father and son team of Gerry and Colin Keane will go...

Leading Royal Ascot fancy A Piece Of Heaven (Fr) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) will sport a new set of silks when he lines out in the Copper Horse Handicap after Syndicates Racing secured a deal for the potential Melbourne Cup contender to join Joseph O'Brien.  That bit of business comes as a double blow to A Piece Of Heaven's former trainer Barry Fitzgerald as, not only did he lose his flag-bearer in the transaction, but he now finds himself without a yard to train from after a fallout with his landlord...

Starfield Stud's first-season sire King Of Change (GB) (by Farhh {GB}) got off the mark on Friday evening when his 2-year-old filly Lady With The Lamp (Ire) made a rare foray to Bath a successful one for the Joseph O'Brien stable. Sent off the 7-2 favourite having been third on debut at Windsor last month, the daughter of the ex-Godolphin mare Caring Touch (Elusive Quality) was positioned behind the leaders early by Billy Loughnane before being produced to lead approaching the furlong pole and score by half a length from...

Joseph O'Brien has laid out an adventure in America for juvenile Group 1-winner Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), the target being the GI Manhattan S. in New York on June 8, in a path eventually routing to the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. After having his sophomore season disrupted by injury, Al Riffa resurfaced in the G1 Prix Ganay at ParisLongchamp and was only beaten by three-quarters of a length in a wild scramble on the wire. O'Brien admits his charge's size is something of a concern, and...

Royal Ascot-bound Cowardofthecounty (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}) has been snapped up by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables and other American-based partners. Cowardofthecounty made a scintillating start to his career when scoring on debut for Joseph O'Brien over 6f at the Curragh.  The form has since been franked with the runner-up, the Aidan O'Brien-rained Whistlejacket (Ire) (No Nay Never), landing the First Flier S. over 5f at the Curragh in similarly impressive fashion.  Cowardofthecounty is prominent in the betting for the Coventry S. at odds of 5-1 and, according to O'Brien, the...

Brian Kavanagh has said that he agrees completely with Johnny Murtagh's assertion that Ireland should not be "resting on its laurels" when it comes to prize-money while Irish Racehorse Trainers Association [IRTA] chief Ryan McElligott expressed a wish that the Curragh boss's decision to up the minimum prize fund at the track to €20,000 could stir up similar change among other racecourses.  Leopardstown, Ireland's only other Group 1 Flat track, has followed the Curragh's lead in raising its basement prize-money levels to €15,000. However, leading trainers Joseph O'Brien and Ado...