O’Brien quickly made waves in Ireland as one of the top trainers, as he was named top Irish National Hunt Trainer following the 1993-94 season. That would be an achievement that he would emulate for the next five seasons. So, if you know how to read the odds in horse racing you probably are familiar with his name.
He would enter our celeb list through the most successful horse over this period. The legendary Istabraq, who would win the Champion Hurdle on three occasions, and the Irish Champion Hurdle on four occasions.
However, O’Brien’s time training National Hunt runners would come to an end in 1996, as he accepted an approach from John Magnier to train at Ballydoyle. A first graded victory on the flat would soon follow in the 1996 season, as he trained Desert King to win the National Stakes, before a first Classic victory followed with the same runner in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. At the end of the 2001 season, O’Brien made history by becoming the first Irishman to end the season as England’s Champion trainer since Vincent O’Brien in 1971.
