Trailblazer Joseph O'Brien sets sights on further glory
HOME COMFORTS: Trainer Joseph O'Brien loves life working at Owning Hill. 'I actually don’t go racing a lot in Ireland, probably not as much as I should, but when the first race is on at 1 o’clock, I’m missing half the morning here,' he explains. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
On Sunday at Leopardstown, Up And Under, a once-raced maiden, contested the Ballysax Stakes, a bona fide Derby trial, and went agonisingly close to landing a gamble. It didn’t quite come off, but it’s just the type of audacious effort we expect from his trainer, Joseph O’Brien, who tends not to do things by the book.
Still a few weeks shy of his 30th birthday, he has made such an impact in his relatively short time training that his previous career in the saddle, which yielded more than 30 Group 1s, including 10 Classics in these isles, seems light years ago.
