O’Brien marks promotion
PATIENCE WAS rewarded for Wexford rider Tom O’Brien when Richard Johnson announced his retirement as stable jockey to Philip Hobbs.
After being his understudy for about 15 years, O’Brien has been appointed to the top spot and he celebrated with a thrilling Grade 1 success on Thyme Hill in the £150,000 Ryanair Stayers’ Hurdle at Aintree just prior to the Grand National.
O’Brien had to be at his strongest and his best to wear down Harry Skelton and Roksana to get up by a neck. The 34-year-old can expect to be involved in many more top flight races from now on.
‘I’m delighted he’s won for everyone, really,’ said O’Brien, who punched the air after the line. ‘If anyone was doubting me, just to start off with a Grade 1 win is spot-on.
‘I’ll never fill Richard’s boots, all I can do is pull up my own. I’ve been in the same position for so long, it’s kind of new and it’s a different calibre of horse I’m dealing with.’
Tom was born in November 1986 and is son of Jim, who is a brother of Ballydoyle maestro, Aidan.
He began his career riding out for Shay Slevin whose wife Elizabeth is a sister of Jim and Aidan. He got the chance to ride out at Ballydoyle and get up close to some of the superstars there.
He moved to England in 2004 at just 17 years of age. In the 2005-’06 season he was champion amateur rider and he turned professional in June of that year.
He made a big impression quite early and in 2007 came second to Gordon Elliott’s Silver Birch in the Grand National. At the 2009 Cheltenham festival he won the Fred Winter hurdle on Silk Affair. Grade 1 wins include the Tolworth Hurdle twice on Taghmon-bred Finian’s Oscar (2017) and Elixir Du Nutz and the Challow Hurdle (’07).
He has won the Welsh Grand National twice on Dream Alliance in ’09 and Elegant Escape in 2018, and the Topham Chase at Aintree in 2011 and ’12 on Always Waining.
Philip Hobbs said: ‘He’s a very good rider but hasn’t had all the opportunities that he perhaps deserves. There will be more opportunities for him from now on.’
By my reckoning Tom has ridden 980 winners in Britain and his 270 winners in the past five years have earned €4m.
He has certainly served a long apprenticeship and is more than ready now to take advantage of this chance.
It was a big weekend for the O’Briens as Tom’s dad, Jim, was looking after Fakir D’oudaries for his nephew Joseph for the £187,000 Grade 1 Marsh Chase at Aintree on Friday, and he romped in by eleven lengths for JP McManus under Mark Walsh.
They ran a jumps card at Mallow in Cork on Monday. The Wexford contingent was mostly from the point-to-point sphere, contesting a trio of Hunter Chases and the concluding point-to-point mares’ bumper which brought the only victory.
Winner at a generous 22/1 was the Denis Murphy (Ballyboy stable, The Ballagh)-trained Letthe-truthbeknown under Luke Murphy from Inch, eight lengths clear of Patrick Mullins on Golden Bidar (4/1). It was a second track winner for Luke who works for the Ballyboy operation and has had about 40 winners in point-to-point.
I just got in a mention last week about the Wexford connection with Skyace, the £600 horse that Shark Hanlon trained up through the ranks to win the €100,000 Grade 1 mares’ novice hurdle under Jody McGarvey at Fairyhouse on Sunday.
Two of the six-man Birdinthehand syndicate are from Wexford, Kevin Crean from Killurin who is teaching in Abu Dhabi, and his friend Kerril Sutton from Blackwater whose late dad, Vincent, was also a very keen racing fan.
Indeed, I well remember Vincent and his friends from some memorable trips to the Cheltenham Festival on the famous John Dalton bus some years ago.