Farewell to the greatest trainer ever; VINCENT O'BRIEN RIP: 1917-2009.Byline: PAT FLANAGAN John Patrick "Pat" Flanagan (born 1891 in Preston, Lancashire) was an English footballer. An inside forward, Flanagan played youth football for Stourbridge before joining Norwich City in 1908, before moving to Fulham in 1909. LEGENDARY Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien died yesterday at the age of 92. Dr O'Brien was without doubt the greatest Irish trainer ever and was voted both the greatest National Hunt and greatest flat trainer of the 20th century. His feat of three Grand National, four Cheltenham Gold Cup The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt horse race in the United Kingdom for five-year-old and above horses. It is run over a distance of 3 miles 2½ furlongs (5,331 metres) on the New Course at Cheltenham Racecourse during the Cheltenham Festival in March. and six Derby victories is unlikely to be repeated. Dr O'Brien died at his home in Straffan, Co Kildare, surrounded by his family. In a statement they said: "He and his wife Jacqueline have been spending winters in Perth, Australia Perth may refer to:
Last night racing pundit An expert or knowledgeable person. From "pandit" in Hindi. See guru. John McCririck John McCririck (born 17 April 1940, Surbiton, Surrey) is an English television horse racing pundit. He is notable not only for his racing opinions, but his gentry style of dress and mannerisms. said: "He was the greatest trainer of all time. "He didn''t inherit it or was put in a position by wealthy patrons. It was by sheer skill, knowledge and a fantastic feel and flair for a horse." Born in Churchtown, Co Cork, in 1917, he went on to train 1,529 winners in Ireland and was champion trainer here 13 times. He had his first winner at the age of 26 in May 1943. After his success over jumps he turned his attentions to flat racing. This year's Derby on Saturday will be particularly special for Aidan O'Brien, no relation, who took over from him at the famous Ballydoyle stables in Co Tipperary. He said: "As for so many people in racing, he was my hero growing up. To come to Ballydoyle was an extraordinary privilege. "Dr O'Brien was tireless in improving the yards and gallops and we enjoy the benefits of his half-century of hard work and dedication today." In the 70s, Dr O'Brien, Robert Sangster and John Magnier established the successful Coolmore syndicate. Dr O'Brien had last week Perth, 16 English and 27 Irish Classic victories, 25 Royal Ascot wins and 23 Cheltenham Festival successes during a 51-year career. His final winner was Mysterious Ways at the Curragh This article is about the plain in County Kildare. For the racecourse on the plain, see Curragh Racecourse. For the willow scrub habitat known as curragh on the Isle of Man, see Curragh (habitat). For the Irish boat, see Currach. in September 1994. He retired from training in October 1994. A statement from daughter Sue Magnier read: "Coolmore Stud and Ballydoyle are the results of his vision and testament to his success." Taoiseach Brian Cowen said: "Vincent was a great ambassador for Ireland and a gentle giant of horse racing." In 2001 he was voted the greatest influence in racing history in a poll by the Racing Post. His funeral is on Thursday. MR RACING: PAGE 47 3 Number of Grand National winners Vincent trained FOUR He won The Gold Cup on four occasions, 3 times between 1948 and 1950 Two-year-old He trained Nijinsky, pictured left, a champion two-year-old and the last horse to win the British Triple Crown of Guineas, Derby and St Leger. 1,529 The total number of winners he trained in his career 6 Number of Epsom Derby winners CAPTION(S): MAN AT WORK Vincent training horses at the Ballydoyle stables HOME LIFE With Jacqueline HORSE POWER Vincent O'Brien at Epsom last June |
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