The Cheltenham trainer you MUST follow as son of flat racing king tools up with double figure priced dangerous weapons
Willie Mullins has a stranglehold on the Cheltenham Festival markets and his odds-on Galopin Des Champs can go into folklore with a third Gold Cup success.
Nicky Henderson has short-priced superstars Constitution Hill and Jonbon to go into battle in the Cotswolds. Dan Skelton is aiming to back-up his four winners last year, Paul Nicholls is lurking, Irish cracks Gordon Elliott, Henry De Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell all have strong teams.
One outstanding individual who must not be underestimated, however, is Joseph O’Brien. He has a string of dangerous weapons some of which, tantalisingly, are currently available at big double-figure prices. Son of Aidan, the king when it comes to flat training, Joseph has a small but select side for the Festival and few are better at targeting for the big day. O’Brien Jnr knows how to prepare one. A classic winning jockey, he has immense skills in training and an incredible CV of big-race wins.
At just 24 years of age, he became the youngest winning trainer of the Melbourne Cup when his Rekindling won and he did it again in 2000 with Twilight Payment. Eight years after he became the youngest jockey to win a Breeders’ Cup race, O'Brien became the youngest trainer to enjoy success when Iridessa won the Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita. He has British and Irish classics and has also displayed a terrific knack of targeting of jumps prizes.
He’s had Cheltenham winners. Ivanovich Gorbatov’s 2016 Triumph was largely attributed to him and his first official success came when Band Of Outlaws won the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle six years ago. Early Doors then won the Martin Pipe at the same meeting. Banbridge won the Martin Pipe again in 2022. Lark in the Morning landed another Fred Winter 12 months ago.
Most importantly, when looking specifically at this term and Cheltenham 2025, O’Brien has been mustard at getting them ready. Banbridge peaked to perfection to win a King George. Two Grade 1 wins for Solness at Leopardstown. Another for Home by the Lee in the Savils over Christmas.
O'Brien has openly stated his desire to get a Grade 1 success on the board and Banbridge has a Gold Cup shot, Solness goes for the Queen Mother Champion Chase and Home by the Lee is better than ever heading into a fourth crack at the Stayers Hurdle.
But the trainer also has a talented group below the top-level races ready to pounce in races which are bound to have circled in the calendar for months, especially given many are owned by the legendary JP McManus. This group must be of specific interest.
On Tuesday, given his previous impressive record in the Fred Winter, Out For A Stroll, Puturhandstogether and Beyond Your Dreams all run in the green and gold and simply must be ranked high on lists. Jordans, who won a Grade 3 at Punchestown last October, could go in that day’s Ultima, but also has entries in Thursday’s Jack Richards Novice and Plate. He’s notable whatever race is picked.
Even more so, Nurburgring. He’s won a Galway Hurdle and has a hurdle rating in Ireland of 150. He gets to run over fences in the Jack Richards off a mark of 143. That’s eye catching, to say the least. Comfort Zone will go for either Wednesday’s Coral Cup or Friday’s Martin Pipe and looks reasonably treated, while in the Cross County, Busselton and Fakir d’Oudairies, who won a Grade 1 at Aintree in his youth, are lively outsiders.
Lark in the Morning won his Fred Winter off 122 in soft ground he didn’t relish. He’s back for Friday’s County Hurdle off just eight pounds higher and with a faster forecast surface to suit. San Salvador has three options and, crucially, was taken to Cheltenham twice last autumn for vital course experience. Galileo Dame could run in Thursday's Mares Novice or go for Friday's Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle.
O'Brien is a master trainer and a magnificent judge. He might be under the radar compared with Mullins or Henderson, but he is not to be underestimated.
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