Joseph O'Brien Stable Tour

The Owning Hill ace takes us through his pack for Prestbury Park, spearheaded by Supreme Novices' Hurdle second favourite Talk The Talk.

Tuesday 17 February 2026
Stable Tours
Share this

18+. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. Registration required.

Further terms and conditions may apply

Claim Offer

At the age of 32, Joseph O’Brien is still one of the younger members of the training profession in Ireland, but since taking out his licence in June 2016 he has accumulated a list of big-race winners under both codes that would be the envy of many veteran trainers.

O’Brien made an immediate splash under National Hunt rules, finishing third in the trainers’ championship to Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott in his first full season in 2017/18. Grade 1 winners soon followed with Edwulf’s memorable victory in the Irish Gold Cup in 2018 representing his most notable domestic triumph over jumps.

He has also enjoyed success at the Cheltenham Festival, saddling the winner of the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle on three occasions, including the last two renewals, and the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle two times.

For the few seasons, Home By The Lee, Solness and Banbridge have been his stable stars over jumps, with the latter winning multiple Grade 1 races including the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park in 2024.

While O’Brien has made a conscious decision to greatly reduce the number of National Hunt horses he has in training in recent years, he is still capable of making an impact at the highest level of the sport.

Joseph sat down with Kevin Blake of attheraces.com to discuss his team for Cheltenham 2026.

All Horses

Banbridge (IRE)

10-y-o; chestnut gelding
Breeding: Doyen (IRE) - Old Carton Lass (IRE) (Presenting (UK))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Next Race: Cheltenham, 12 Mar 2026 16:00
Form: U174-42
View full form

Form profile

A 167-rated chaser, he has won six of his 15 starts over fences including the Champion Chase at the Punchestown Festival in April 2024 and the King George VI Chase at Kempton last season. He mostly recently finished a nose second in the latest renewal of the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park.

Trainer says

He ran a huge race in the King George VI Chase, and we were very proud of him. Everyone knows at this stage that he has a notable preference for better ground. We’ll keep him entered for the Ryanair Chase and the Gold Cup, but it will be a late, ground-based decision that will dictate where he goes. If the ground isn’t right, we would be more than happy to wait for Aintree with him.

Brave Fortune (IRE)

7-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Soldier of Fortune (IRE) - Rachel's Star (IRE) (Presenting (UK))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Last Race: Thurles, 18 Jan 2026 14:50
Result: 2/14, tracked leaders, 5th halfway, pushed along after 2 out, 3rd and ridden early straight, went 2nd before last and kept on well run-in
View full form

Form profile

A 133-rated chaser, he joined O’Brien from Pat Doyle earlier this season and most recently finished a close second in a handicap chase at Thurles in January.

Trainer says

We have entered him in a couple of the staying handicap chases. Better ground will suit him and getting back up in trip will also be in his favour. We are not completely married to running him at Cheltenham and he has options elsewhere, so we’ll wait and see what the ground is doing before making a decision. The best is yet to come from him.

Dignam (IRE)

4-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Sea The Moon (GER) - Bunraku (UK) (Cacique (IRE))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Next Race: Curragh, 15 Mar 2026 16:20
Form: 0/56645
View full form

Form profile

Rated 86 on the Flat, he won three juvenile hurdles in the UK over the summer months prior to finishing fifth in a Grade 1 juvenile hurdle at Auteuil in November.

Trainer says

Dignam showed a very good appetite for hurdling during the summer months, albeit winning very weak races. We let him take his chance in a Grade 1 at Auteuil, but the ground was particularly testing that day, and he wasn’t in love with it. We’ve gelded him since then and given him a good break. We’ve been training him for the Fred Winter and have a good idea of what mark he’ll get. He’ll be carrying plenty of weight, but he is a smart horse and is well worth his place in the line-up.

Duke Silver (IRE)

6-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Order Of St George (IRE) - Angel Chorus (IRE) (Dylan Thomas (IRE))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Next Race: Cheltenham, 12 Mar 2026 16:40
Form: 241017
View full form

Form profile

A 126-rated hurdler, he won a Pertemps Qualifier at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting.

Trainer says

He won a Pertemps Qualifier earlier this season and is an intended runner in the Final at the Cheltenham Festival. We won’t have as sneaky a profile of some of his opposition, but he’s steadily progressive and drier ground will be a help to him.

Galileo Dame (IRE)

5-y-o; chestnut mare
Breeding: Galileo Gold (UK) - Two For Tea (IRE) (Mount Nelson (UK))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Last Race: Navan, 28 Feb 2026 13:50
Result: Won/10, tracked leader in 2nd, niggled along briefly entering straight, slight mistake 2 out, led before last, soon ridden to assert, clear last, comfortably
View full form

Form profile

Rated 90 on the Flat, she finished second in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival last year and remains a maiden over hurdles.

Trainer says

We have entered her in the Coral Cup, and I’d say she’s a likely runner in that. She hasn’t quite rediscovered for form from last season yet, but the longer trip of the Coral Cup will be a help to her.

Glen To Glen (IRE)

4-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Dawn Approach (IRE) - Galuminous (IRE) (Intense Focus (USA))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Last Race: Cheltenham, 10 Mar 2026 14:40
Result: 18/22, midfield, not fluent 3rd, lost position and ridden along after 3 out, mistake 2 out, weakened before last
View full form

Form profile

Rated 87 on the Flat, he made it third-time lucky over hurdles in a maiden at Cork in December

Trainer says

Glen To Glen is a horse we like plenty. We’ve been training him for the Fred Winter and have been very happy with the run-to-run improvement he has shown over hurdles. The big-field and usually strong pace of the Fred Winter will really suit him much better than slowly-run maiden hurdles have. I think he has a lot of ability and am looking forward to seeing him in this sort of race as I think there’s more to come from him for sure.

Home By The Lee (IRE)

11-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Fame And Glory (UK) - Going For Home (IRE) (Presenting (UK))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Next Race: Cheltenham, 12 Mar 2026 15:20
Form: 1UP6-41
View full form

Form profile

A 159-rated hurdler, he has won two renewals of the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and most recently won the Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park.

Trainer says

He has been a real hero of a horse for us. He’s 11, but he wasn’t far off his best form when winning the Galmoy Hurdle last time. He has run in the Stayers’ Hurdle four times already and hasn’t had loads of luck in it. I thought I had him in tip-top form going into the race last year and he really was fiercely unlucky to be brought down. I can’t imagine there’s been too many horses that have won at the Cheltenham Festival on their fifth attempt in a race, but we’ll get him there in the very best shape we can and hopefully he’ll run well in it again.

Jordans (FR)

7-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Coastal Path (UK) - Belle Anglaise (FR) (Network (GER))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Next Race: Aintree, 11 Apr 2026 16:00
Form: 52-85P0
View full form

Form profile

A 149-rated chaser, he won a Grade 3 novice chase at Punchestown in November 2024 and twice finished second in the Grade 1 novice chase company later that season.

Trainer says

We are working back from the Grand National with him and he is likely to run in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse next weekend instead of running at Cheltenham.

Kim Roque (FR)

6-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Beaumec De Houelle (FR) - Pearl De La Roque (FR) (Villez (USA))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Next Race: Cheltenham, 12 Mar 2026 17:20
Form: F42245
View full form

Form profile

A 129-rated chaser, he has run well without winning in three starts in handicap chases since joining O’Brien.

Trainer says

We’ve given him a few entries in handicap chases at Cheltenham and the intention is to run him there. We’ll see what the ground is doing closer to the time, but we would be open to stepping him up in trip. He ran really well at the Dublin Racing Festival and there is more to come from him.

Kizlyar (IRE)

4-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Make Believe (UK) - Kisanga (IRE) (Redoute's Choice (AUS))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Last Race: Punchestown, 12 Jan 2026 12:48
Result: 3/15, mid-division, 6th halfway, pushed along and went 3rd entering straight, kept on one pace
View full form

Form profile

A winner on the Flat when trained in France, he has run well without winning in three starts in maiden hurdles.

Trainer says

His target is the Fred Winter. He has been learning on the job in maiden hurdles, and the penny seems to be dropping. He is going to be at the right end of the weights, but whether he has enough experience over hurdles will be a question mark.

Puturhandstogether (IRE)

5-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Caravaggio (USA) - Round Of Applause (UK) (Galileo (IRE))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Next Race: Cheltenham, 11 Mar 2026 14:40
Form: 13-6026
View full form

Form profile

A 144-rated hurdler, he won the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and the Irish Cesarewitch at the Curragh this year.

Trainer says

He won the Fred Winter last year and we’re aiming to run him in the County Hurdle this year. He is still a young horse without big mileage on him, so hopefully he can find some more improvement.

Solness (FR)

8-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Konig Turf (GER) - Solveigh (GER) (Tiger Hill (IRE))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Last Race: Leopardstown, 01 Feb 2026 14:10
Result: 5/6, niggled along early, improved to lead after 1st, headed 2nd, 2nd when reminder 4th, ridden 6th, dropped to moderate 5th 3 out, weakened
View full form

Form profile

A 166-rated chaser, he has won seven times over fences including the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown last season and the last two renewals of the Paddy's Rewards Club Chase.

Trainer says

We’ll keep his entry in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and would ideally want drier ground, but I’d say on balance he is more likely to go to Aintree instead.

Talk The Talk (FR)

5-y-o; chestnut gelding
Breeding: Born To Sea (IRE) - Walk The Walk (FR) (Walk In The Park (IRE))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Last Race: Cheltenham, 10 Mar 2026 13:20
Result: 7/11, midfield, not fluent 4th, awkward 5th, pushed along after 3 out, ridden and outpaced in rear 2 out, rallied and kept on same pace after last, never seriously involved
View full form

Form profile

A 149-rated hurdler, he is unbeaten in his three completed starts over hurdles including a Grade 1 novice hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Trainer says

Sure look, he’s obviously our big young hope over jumps. He is most likely to run in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. We can see the case for running him in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, but we feel that it will be best for his long-term prospects to keep him at the shorter distance for now. He speaks for himself, really. We were all very impressed with what he did at the Dublin Racing Festival and the potential for him to improve again from that is obvious. He’s a very exciting horse and no one is looking forward to seeing him again more than we are.

Zeus Power (GER)

5-y-o; bay gelding
Breeding: Protectionist (GER) - Zippity Do Da (IRE) (Makfi (UK))
Trained by: J P O'Brien
Next Race: Cheltenham, 11 Mar 2026 13:20
Form: 23211
View full form

Form profile

A 131-rated hurdler, he has won two of his three starts over hurdles including a Listed novice hurdle at Punchestown in February.

Trainer says

He is a likely runner in the Turners’ Novices’ Hurdle. We’ve liked his progression so far and think a longer trip will suit him. Better ground will also be in his favour. He’ll have plenty to find with the market leaders on the book, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if he ran well.

Joseph O'Brien Stable Tour