Aidan O’Brien won his seventh British Flat Trainer’s Championship, his first since 2017.
Though the British season officially runs from January 1 to December 31, the Ballydoyle trainer leads the standings by more than £3 million after a string of big-race successes.
Breeders’ Cup Classic contender City Of Troy has spearheaded O’Brien’s efforts in Britain this year, winning a Group 1 hat-trick in the Betfred Derby, Coral-Eclipse and Juddmonte International at York most recently.
Kyprios returned to the top of the staying division with victories in the Gold Cup and Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup, while Jan Brueghel led home a one-two for the stable in the Betfred St Leger at Doncaster.
As usual, Aidan O’Brien was quick to deflect praise as he emphasised the importance of the team effort at Ballydoyle and Coolmore.
“It is a big team effort from everyone in Ballydoyle and Coolmore,” O’Brien said. “There are so many special people in so many different areas that if I started talking about them, I would be here until tomorrow. You can have the horses and the place but, if you don’t have the people, it won’t happen.
“The owners are the people who put the resources in every year, to try and help us make it better. They put a lot of time in and give us advice. We do our best, give information back, and try to follow the roadmap that they draw for us. Some years it goes very well, some years it is ordinary, and some years it is medium.
“This was a good year for us. We won plenty of good races. I am just delighted for everybody when we do have a good year. We don’t take anything for granted and try to look to the future.”
