Joseph O’Brien is still 33 years of age, but he has already put together a remarkable list of accomplishments in horse racing.
Having ridden 31 Group 1 winners in his first career as a jockey, he took out his trainer’s licence in June 2016 and hasn’t looked back since.
He has saddled 22 Grade 1 winners over jumps and 23 Group 1 winners on the Flat, with him having enjoyed particularly notable victories on the international stage including the Melbourne Cup (twice) and the Cox Plate in Australia, the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf in America, the Prix Ganay in France, the St Leger at Doncaster, Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Oaks at Epsom.
He hit a notable milestone in February 2026 when saddling his 1500th winner as a trainer lin under ten years since taking out his licence, hitting that mark in the shortest time of any trainer in Irish racing history.
Having got off the mark at Royal Ascot in spectacular style courtesy of the memorable victory of State Of Rest in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes in 2022, he has added three more victories at the big meeting to his tally since.
O’Brien is preparing another strong team for Royal Ascot and he sat down with Kevin Blake from attheraces.com to discuss them.
Watch every race of Royal Ascot 2026 live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 512) from Tuesday 16th June to Saturday 20th June.