Best of the Blogs.

ALTHOUGH words like 'legend' and 'icon' will be justifiably invoked about such a colossal figure, it is an unequal task attempting to adumbrate Vincent O'Brien's towering stature, his untouchable reputation during his golden years in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

They were for me, anyway.

Roughly speaking, we are talking about the Sangster era, when owner and trainer joined forces with Coolmore stud owner John Magnier to revolutionise racing and bloodstock.

To my boyhood self, the latter meant little other than some arcane world where scarcely credible sums of money changed hands for untried racehorses. The racecourse, though, was a totally different matter, and here O'Brien was king.

A near holy aura seemed to surround Ballydoyle horses in those days, horses trained by an impossibly dedicated, meticulous, gifted tutor. At times, they seemed almost to come from a different planet rather than a different country.

Nearly all of them carried the emerald green and royal blue Sangster silks; nearly all of them were ridden by the ferocious Lester Piggott (and later Pat Eddery).

Did I say O'Brien was king? Strike that. I was born in Epsom in Derby week in 1967, and to that ten-yearold racing anorak, the man who trained The Minstrel to win the Classic in 1977 was god.

I knew about some of the earlier horses - the awe in which Nijinsky and Sir Ivor were held - but it was The Minstrel that sealed the deal with Vincent and me. If that unforgettable Epsom finish with Hot Grove was one thing, the less celebrated King George tussle with Orange Bay a couple of months later sticks in the mind almost as much.

NICHOLAS GODFREY Did I say O'Brien was king? Strike that, he was god POSTED AT 9.21pm 2 JUNE 2009 Weblog It's a funny old world What our top writers are saying on

STEVE DENNIS POSTED AT 3.09pm 7 JUNE 2009 Weblog Desperate measures for desperate times TENNERS are in short supply in the Dennis household, what with printing them being against the law and all that, and the aftermath of yesterday's poker implosion still reverberating around my wallet. I was one of the 'experts' in the Racing Post poker tourney and distinguished myself only through my undistinguished play. I won a few big pots but lost more and only lasted an hour. Numbers, you see (see previous blog). Can't 'ave 'em.

But if I had a tenner (no, I do, somewhere, don't all rush to send me money) I would put it on the brilliant Sea The Stars not turning up at Doncaster in September to fight for the Triple Crown.

For all John Oxx's protestations that he thinks the Triple Crown is winnable, and that it might even be won in the next ten years, it appears he isn't going to commit Sea The Stars to the final Classic. But at the moment, this horse is the best horse in Europe. Class will out, sometimes, even if stamina runs out.

Nijinsky, muzzy with the aftereffects of ringworm, had enough raw genius to see off Meadowville in 1970, and if only Nashwan had gone to Ayr in 1989 for the shifted St Leger he would surely have taken care of Michelozzo et al without breaking sweat.

I won a few big pots, but only lasted an hour

Don't miss our other fantastic bloggers . .

TOM DASCOMBE POSTED AT 4.34pm 5 JUNE 2009 Weblog Sorting the sellers from the supersonics ONE of this season's targets was to prove we could train 70 horses just as effectively as 40, and it appears not only are we doing that, but we're improving the quality.

We're sending representatives to Royal Ascot for the first time this year, but I'm not sure which of our steads will gain the title Oneway's first royal runner as I've two in mind for the last race on day one - the Windsor Castle Stakes - maybe we'll run both to be fair.

Party Doctor is likely to be our final runner of the week as I'm hoping to pop him in the Chesham Stakes on the Saturday. We'll run him once more before that though, so I don't have to fear he hasn't enough experience when he gets to Royal Ascot.

I've got two in mind for the Windsor Castle BEN HUTTON Join our relentless quest for winners PETER THOMAS Wandering the world wide web TONY SMURTHWAITE Follow the BBC campaign trail with our head of news JAMES WILLOUGHBY Food for thought from our chief correspondent - BE IN THE KNOW