Attention to detail is the secret to Joseph O'Brien's success

Trainer Joseph O'Brien after winning the Coolmore Stud Little Big Bear Irish EBF Athasi Stakes with Gregarina. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire.

There is a languid, laidback style about Joseph O’Brien which seems to transfer to the staff in Carriganog Racing. That pervading easy rhythm belies all he has achieved at such a young age, and all he and his team continue to strive to achieve.

The work gets done — the trophy cabinet replete with Melbourne Cups, Cox Plate, Galway Plate, Irish Derby, Ascot and Melling Chases, and many, many more across both codes and from far and wide are testament to that — but it does so without a factory feel, as lots exceeding 50 horses, and a full string many times that, consistently delivers on the track.

Monday morning was another opportunity to see O’Brien and team in action, this one blessed with warmth from glorious sunshine which is a far cry from how the exposed highland may look and feel during the dark winter mornings.

There are shades of O’Brien Sr in his training methods. How could there not be? He scrutinises each horse as they make the way up the gallop, all abiding to the speed which has been asked of them. As the last of them go by, some are already on the way down and O’Brien, a la Aidan, asks each individual rider, by name, if everything is okay.

Back into the jeep for further inspection and before we’ve gone far, O’Brien stops, alights and tells one of the lads he can bring his mount straight home. Did he notice something, I enquire. Yes, he thought the horse in question — one of 56 I could count in the lot — was a touch warmer than usual and not moving as fluently behind as it usually would.

Impressed, I enquire if this is the real art of racehorse training. Without intending to self-deprecate, rather to be honest, O’Brien points out that he may be wrong, that the horse may be 100%, but that he’s not happy with what he has seen and must do right by the horse.

It feels like an inexact science, dependent upon the genius of the trainer, but nonetheless an important part of the multi-faceted role of the handler.

The need to be open to change is also key to success, and already this season there is evidence of the latest amendments to the regime. In 2023, he finished second to his father in the trainers’ championship, the same position he has occupied every season since 2018, but he noticed a gap in his season which he felt had been caused by starting too quickly. Changes were required.

“Last year we were a little bit light through June and July, but we started very strong — we had a bunch of stakes winners early — so we made a concerted effort this year to start a bit slower and aim for summer onwards,” he explains.

“I think we had some horses that ran big races early and they were still running well but we felt they could be doing better in the high summer, so we slightly changed our training this spring.

“We were very strong at the end of March, April, into May, but really all the big meetings are May, June, July, onwards, so you’ll have seen some of our horses getting tired on their first runs. I think as the summer gets on they’ll keep stepping forward.” 

In contrast to the older brigade and citing the need to be more competitive early with his two-year-olds, there has also been a change of tack in his approach to buying young stock.

“Ascot is so early, especially for a two-year-old, but it’s so important,” he acknowledges. “You can say whatever you want to say, but Ascot is where the world watches. There are about five or six Flat meetings in the year that it does, so we have to compete at Ascot.

“Having two-year-olds that compete is so important, not only commercially but also because a lot of people want to have Ascot horses.

“If you don’t have a precocious type, there’s no point going to the races for another while because to win a maiden in Ireland is off the charts.

“We always have some lovely home-breds but the vast majority of them are seven-furlong, mile, middle-distance types, so they don’t really come on stream until July onwards.

“A lot of my owners, historically, have wanted a middle-distance horse, so we had to get our hands on a more precocious type of two-year-old to have for the first half of the season.” 

One thing which there never seems to be a shortage of at Carriganog Racing is owners. The ability to attract an extensive and diverse range of owners has always been one of the most impressive facets of O’Brien’s operation. The ability to network is an advantage but O’Brien knows there is only one thing that will continue to attract them.

“We’re very lucky, we have a lot of support from a lot of people. We train horses for just about everyone really — from syndicates who want to spend 15 thousand to people who want to spend a lot more money and have a winner at Royal Ascot.

“If you’re competing in the big races at the big meetings and competing well, you can shake as many hands as you like but if you’re not winning races or competing at the big meetings … That’s the best way of showcasing your stable.”