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4th January 2007 The following is an excerpt relating to Vincent O'Brien from an article by Plunkett Carter on Cork's great sporting heroes which appeared in the Evening Echo on December 31st 2008. Vincent O'Brien In 2003 Vincent O'Brien, of the remarkable Churchtown family, was voted "horse racing's Greatest of All-time", ahead of icons like Lester Piggott, Sir Gordon Richards, The Queen Mother and Sheik Mohammed; O'Brien won every race that matters in Britain and Ireland over his fifty year career and is without doubt the best and most versatile trainer the sport has ever known. He was the only man to have trained three consecutive Grand National winners - Early Mist, Royal Tan and Quare Times. O'Brien won three consecutive Gold Cups, three consecutive Champion Hurdles. His flat racing successes were incomparable; Six Derby's, three Prix de I'Arc's being the highlights of a 43 classic haul which does not include French Derby, Washington International and Breeders Cup Mile. His life was fascinating. From humble beginnings in North Cork he left Mungret College when only 15 to commence a racing career. He had been learning the ways of horses and the wiles of racing since his childhood. His father Dan was a cagey cheerful trainer who, assisted by Vincent, won the Cambridgeshire and Cesarewitch. His brother Phonsie was a popular jockey, with Cheltenham victories to his credit, who later became a successful trainer and breeder. Another sibling Dermot became his great friend, aide and assistant trainer. When Dan O'Brien died in 1943 the stables at Clashganniv were inherited by his son Donal and not Vincent who was actually running the stables. Donal, John, Ignatius and James were Dan's children from a first marriage. Vincent, Dermot, Alphonsus ('Phonsie') and Pauline were children of his marriage to Kathleen. Donal's only son Noel and his wife Margaret now own and farm the Clashganniv lands which is run as a dairy farm. Noel takes a keen interest in racing and likes to maintain some horses but for pleasure rather than profit. Vincent's first major success came with his first Cheltenham entrant 'Cottage Rake' who won the Gold Cup in 1948. Following 'Cottage Rake's' great win the owner, Frank Vickerman, organised a triumphal parade into Churchtown village and arranged a night's free drink for all at the three village hostelries. And the celebrations led to the following verses being penned. We danced on the streets, then we moved
to the bars, Vincent left Churchtown for Ballydoyle near Cashel, County Tipperary, which he purchased for £15,000 in March 1951. Two years earlier he married renowned Australian photographer, Jacqueline Wittenoom Their five children are all connected with racing as owners, trainers or breeders. Sue married John Magnier and they own Coolmore Stud while Baroda Stud in Kildare is the home of Jane and Philip Myerscough. Liz is wife of film producer Kevin McLory. Charles trains horses including those owned by his father at Baronrath Stables in Kildare and David, who has moved to France to develop an award winning vineyard, has the distinction of training three derby winners, the Irish and French with Assert and the Epsom Derby with Secreto in 1984; Vincent's 2,000 Guineas winner El Gran Senor (Pat Eddery) was odds on favourite to give Vincent O'Brien his seventh Epsom Derby in that memorable 1984 renewal. He failed by a whisker, being beaten in the world's most famous flat race by his own much loved 27 year old recently married son's Secreto ridden dynamically by Christy Roche. Astonishingly Eddery objected to the winner; Vincent was stunned and was then greatly relieved when after ten minutes which seemed like an hour the objection was over-ruled. The race was followed by a classic Brough Scott ITV interview when he introduced Vincent as 'Losing trainer, winning father.' Vincent told him 'Prize money doesn't matter, I'm thrilled for my son and I'd never have got over it if the race had been taken from my son.' Brough then quizzed David who replied 'It's not about beating my father, it's about winning the Derby'. Lily O'Brien, purveyor of smart but affordable chocolates, won a prize to 'sponsor' the £30,000 two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdle at Cheltenham in 2006. The business, named after her daughter, is run by Mary Ann O'Brien, wife of Jonathan Irwin; daughter of legendary horseman Phonsie O'Brien; niece of legendary trainer Vincent and sister-in-law of Noel Meade. She is one of only two O'Briens - the other is David (retired trainer) who went into vineyards and is now a successful wine maker - to ever escape horses. Another Churchtown man Jack Moylan
who rode Solford to win the Cambridgeshire for Vincent was a leading
flat jockey during the late 1920s, 30s and 40s. Towards the end
of his career he won two Irish Derbys in successive years riding
Slide On and Picadilly. He also finished second in the Aintree Grand
National on a horse called Fly Mask in 1924. Jack Moylan also has
the distinction of being Pat Eddery's grandfather. ends ..
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