O'Brien's genius is something to savour

For a small island nation falling off the edge of Europe, Ireland has coughed out an impressive array of sports stars of global fame. But as the years roll on, and the Ballydoyle empire continues to dominate in a truly global sport, it's becoming increasing difficult to dispute Aidan O'Brien's position as the greatest Irish sports personality of all time. What other Irish person has dominated in their sport to the same extent? Has any sports personality in any country dominated to same extent, for the same length of time, as O'Brien?

Wherever O'Brien travels, whether it's to Europe, the Middle East, Australia or the United States, he demands the same attention as if a Messi, LeBron or Bolt was in town. One of the most familiar sights at the Breeders' Cup every year is O'Brien's string of horses galloping through their paces with military precision as they prepare for the two-day series of races. It would be intimidating if it wasn't such a marvellous sight to behold. He's the best trainer in the world and the stats are there to back up those claims. No other trainer comes close to boasting the numbers O'Brien has been building since he took over the Ballydoyle operation back in the 1990s.

The latest glittering achievement for the Irish champion trainer was his two-win haul at the Breeders' Cup, the recognised Olympics of racing which takes place at the tail-end of every flat season. As he does every year, O'Brien flew a crop of his talent out to America and returned home as the second winning-most trainer in the history of the event. He'll most likely equal, if not break, the current record of 20 wins at the event, which is held by American handler Darrell Wayne Lukas, next year in Del Mar. But his eighteen winners are made all the more impressive given European trainers usually only target turf races at the annual meeting, while American trainers generally compete on both turf and dirt surfaces.

At this year's meeting in Santa Anita, the Tipperary trainer won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf with Unquestionable and the Breeders' Cup Turf with Auguste Rodin. It's also worth mentioning that Unquestionable wasn't even considered one of Ballymore's star two-year-olds in 2022 - they've already finished their campaigns and are resting up ahead of their career-defining Classic seasons in 2024. Unquestionable wasn't even O'Brien's first string in California, with pre-race favourite River Tiber being scratched a few hours before the race. And still, O'Brien's two runners, Unquestionable and Mountain Bear, finished first and second.

That's the type of quality Ballymore continues to churn out on a yearly basis. It's Ireland's greatest centre of sporting excellence. In fact, it could be fairly regarded as one of the most esteemed training facilities in the world. No other place has the capabilities to nurture world-class talent like Barcelona's La Masia, the star power of Jupiter which homes the world's best golfers on Florida's coast, the history of Gleason's Gym in New York which trained some of the greatest names in the history of boxing. The Tipperary yard, which was designed meticulously by Vincent O'Brien all the way back in the early 1950s, has it all. But it still needs the soft-spoken horse whisperer to keep it all clicking.

It is, of course, also fair to say that O'Brien has been provided with conditions that facilitate his peerless success. But it still takes a special breed of person to maintain the levels of passion and determination needed to keep achieving at the highest level for as long as he has. He recently recorded his 26th Irish trainers' title, his 25th in-a-row, and he hasn't truly faced any contest for the title after winning his second. Such is his yard's prominence in the sport, he regularly competes for the British trainers' title, although his horses usually only travel across the Irish Sea for major races. His last win in the British trainers' championship came in 2017, the same season he recorded the world record for Group Ones in a calendar year. He won his only RTÉ Sports Manager of the Year award that same season, although arguably no other Irish coach or manager comes close to matching his achievements in any given year. That's the price of continuous excellence. Truth be told, there's a strong case for renaming the accolade in his honour.

For the initiated, there has perhaps never been a more exciting time to start following the exploits of Ballydoyle's residents. The latest crop of two-year-olds may just be O'Brien's most talented class yet, with the most exciting prospect, City of Troy, already being compared to Frankel. The Henry Cecil-trained star, regarded by many as the greatest racehorse of all time, finished his two-year-old season with a rating of 126. Following his first Group One success in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket last month, City of Troy received a rating of 125. And O'Brien still has a handful of other Group One-winning two-year-olds that are sure to continue raiding the best prizes on offer across Europe next season.

Despite overseeing the careers of some phenomenal specimens passing through Ballydoyle over the years, the operation has never really been gifted the complete package with the same class as Frankel or Sea the Stars. With O'Brien's genius, the financial resources of King Croesus and the Coolmore breeding empire supporting the entire operation, it seems like it's only a matter of time before such a star emerges from the yard.

Not that it will greatly impact O'Brien's legacy – that has already been sealed. And given the career span of many of his peers in the industry, retirement is at the very least a couple of decades away.

It's not often that sports fans are afforded the opportunity to appreciate greatness for decades. The humble trainer offers that rare luxury.