By Frank Keogh

O'Brien set the standard for training racehorses

Vincent O'Brien rewrote horse racing's record books in a training career that saw unparalleled success under both codes - Flat and National Hunt.

The Irishman, who has died aged 92, won every big race in Britain and his homeland over a period spanning half a century.

He is the only man to have trained three consecutive Grand National winners and also had the last Triple Crown winner, Nijinsky.

And he helped set up the hugely successful Coolmore racing and thoroughbred breeding operation.

While he may not be a modern-day household name outside racing, O'Brien leaves an indelible mark on his chosen field.

Many of his achievements are unlikely to be bettered.

In 2003, he beat Lester Piggott and a host of other leading figures to be voted the sport's all-time great in a poll of Racing Post readers, capturing nearly 30% of the vote.

It was a rare occasion where Piggott was prepared to settle for second. He had, after all, ridden four of the trainer's six Epsom Derby winners.

Piggott said that O'Brien was, without doubt, the best trainer of the 20th century.

"The key to his success was that he had such great foresight," said Piggott. "He was 10 to 15 years ahead of his time."

ROLL CALL OF WINNERS Grand National: Early Mist 1953, Royal Tan 1954, Quare Times 1955 Cheltenham Gold Cup: Cottage Rake 1948, 1949, 1950; Knock Hard 1953 Epsom Derby: Larkspur 1962, Sir Ivor 1968 Nijinsky 1970, Roberto 1972, The Minstrel 1977, Golden Fleece 1982

From humble beginnings in County Cork, M.V. O'Brien rose to become master of the Ballydoyle stables in County Tipperary.

He won the 1948 Cheltenham Gold Cup with his first runner in Britain, Cottage Rake.

The horse went on to complete a hat-trick of wins in jump racing's blue riband event, and Hatton's Grace did the same in the Champion Hurdle.

Three successive winners of the Grand National at Aintree - Early Mist, Royal Tan and Quare Times - confirmed O'Brien's standing in the early 1950s.

Add to that no less than 23 wins at the Cheltenham Festival, including the Gloucestershire Hurdle 10 times, and his National Hunt record stands the closest scrutiny

With trademark trilby, the smartly-dressed O'Brien liked a flutter and masterminded some successful gambles.

He was meticulous in his work, regularly weighing his horses and arranging to have a spare trailer ready when they travelled to races in case the original one broke down.

O'Brien progressed to dominate Flat racing, where he clinched 16 English and 27 Irish Classics, plus a total of 25 winners at Royal Ascot.

606: DEBATE Racing has its greats, its legends. Can't think of a bigger one than the one we've just lost Brownie3

His achievements included guiding Nijinsky to land the elusive Triple Crown - winning the 2,000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger in 1970.

It was not all plain sailing, however. Back in 1954, the Irish stewards - unhappy with how they perceived some of his horses were being run - withdrew his licence for three months.

And in 1960, the Irish Turf Club banned him from training in a row over alleged doping.

He was later exonerated and went on to train horses such as Sir Ivor, Roberto, The Minstrel and Sadler's Wells, whose names became etched in racing folklore.

O'Brien won the Breeders' Cup Mile with Royal Academy in 1990, and retired four years later.

He was 73 when he saddled Royal Academy to that fairytale victory in the US and had been instrumental in persuading the 54-year-old Piggott to come out of retirement for the ride.

With his wife Jacqueline (an Australian MP's daughter), O'Brien spent his latter years dividing his time between Australia and Ireland.

It was in Ireland where he had established the Coolmore breeding operation with racehorse owner Robert Sangster and his son-in-law John Magnier.

They developed a successful formula of buying top-class yearlings from America and Canada with a view to winning Classics and turning them into big-earning stallions.

The business continues to thrive to this day, with Aidan O'Brien - who is no relation - now holding the training reins with distinction.

Aidan has six horses entered from Ballydoyle in Saturday's Epsom Derby, and it would be poignant if one should triumph.

Vincent died five days before the Derby, a race which he adored.

"There is no doubt that winning the six Derbys gave me the six greatest thrills of my life," he said when guest of honour at the 2008 meeting.

"For me an Epsom Derby win is the greatest prize of all - the ultimate goal for a trainer - and it has been thus for over 200 years."

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