Fergal O’Brien’s 50th winner at Cheltenham came in the opening race of the new season. Frontier Prince, ridden by Jack Hogan, got his head in front only on the line to beat East India Express by a short head in the two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle on Friday 23 October, at 10/1.
The five-year-old gelded son of Frontiersman, rated 122, defied an eight-pound rise for his previous win at Perth. He was also the first homebred winner at the track for his owner, Jimmy Greenley.
For a trainer based in Gloucestershire, the course is close to home, though O’Brien says the milestone would have meant as much wherever his yard was.
“To have 50 winners at Cheltenham is fantastic,” he said. “We’ve not managed to hit the back of the net at the Festival, but it’s a great achievement, and it’s a lot of credit to all the people over the years who have helped us to get to that 50th winner. It’s something I’m very proud of and delighted by.”
The Festival remains the gap on his record. Among his best Cheltenham successes are Alvarado, Perfect Candidate and Cap Soleil. He has also finished second at the meeting with horses including Barney Dwan, Cap Soleil, Imperial Alcazar and Alaphilippe, a couple of them in agonising photographs.
A young team running to the line
A few weeks into the National Hunt season, O’Brien’s verdict is measured rather than ecstatic. Winners are the one thing he would like more of. What pleases him is how his horses are performing.
“I’m pleased about the consistency of the horses’ form,” he said. “Obviously we’d like to have a few more winners. We seem to have a lot of young horses, but they’re running well, they’re being placed and they’re running through the line. As long as they’re running to what we think they should, I’m happy.”
Asked whether any superstars are emerging, O’Brien pointed to a recent setback. Willow Tide ran disappointingly in his bumper last week, but the trainer has seen this before, and with a horse who went on to better things.
“I still do think he’s going to be a future star,” O’Brien said. “He ran disappointingly in his bumper, but then I look back at Ryan’s Rocket, who ran very disappointingly in his bumper at Newbury first time out, and he’s turned into a superstar. So not too much cause for concern. We’ll just get on and run Willow Tide over hurdles.”
He is also counting on his more established horses to keep the winners coming. “We’re very hopeful that the old guard, Sixmilebridge, will keep us going,” he said. The seven-year-old bay gelding is owned by Andrew and Jane Megson, whom O’Brien describes as “great supporters” of the yard. They also own Jolie Cailin, another horse he is looking forward to this season.
Life after Johnny Burke
The biggest change to the yard’s set-up this year was Johnny Burke going freelance. Burke had been stable jockey at Ravenswell Farm since Paddy Brennan retired in April 2024, and won the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle on Crambo in 2024. O’Brien said he rode 34 winners for the yard last season. The trainer says the change has caused little disruption.
“Not really, no. It’s all system go,” he said. “Johnny’s had a good summer and a very good start to the season. We parted on good terms. He’ll still ride a few of our horses, Ryan’s Rocket, Midnight Jukebox and the like. He’s done very well.”
O’Brien is just as positive about the riders who have stepped up. Jack Hogan and Liam Harrison, who ride for the yard four days a week, have been going very well, he says. Tom Broughton has also impressed, and so has his daughter Fern, a conditional jockey. She is at the yard six days a week and has made a great start to the season.
He cannot pinpoint a single race where he has felt a missed opportunity. “I don’t think there’s any race where I’ve thought, ‘Johnny would have won on that,'” he said. “I’m very pleased with the boys. They work very hard, and I’m keen to support them. Hopefully they’ll ride plenty more winners for us.”
Picking battles on the ground
Targets for the season are, for now, dictated by the weather. Soft conditions make planning difficult, and O’Brien says the approach is to find the best ground available and choose races accordingly.
One of his mares has the two-and-a-half-mile mares’ chase at Warwick as her main aim, and another could go to Bangor for a listed mares’ chase. “You’re trying to pick and choose your ground as you go and pick your battles really,” he said.
Gentle Ocean’s hurdling debut
With a runner due out within the hour, O’Brien was also asked about Gentle Ocean, who was set to make her hurdling debut.
The filly has been with the yard all her life. O’Brien trained her dam, and when she came up at the sales as a foal, the syndicate that owned the mother bought her.
His expectations were modest. “She’s been very consistent in her bumpers,” he said. “All we want today is to see a good, clean round of jumping and her to hit the line again. If she finishes in the first three, I’ll be delighted.”
The business side
O’Brien was candid about the part of the job he enjoys least. Asked whether running a commercial operation gets in the way of training horses, he did not hedge.
“I struggle with the commercial side, yes. There’s no denying that. If I had my way, I’d just train horses. Every trainer will tell you the same. Every farmer will tell you the same. They just want to concentrate on the farming and not worry about the VAT and the wages and all the rest of the PAYE.”
He is quick to credit the people who take that burden off him. Ali Sterling, who rode as an amateur, has been with him since his first day as a trainer and has handled the yard’s accounts for around nine years. Chris Coley, his business partner, has been “very supportive” throughout.
“I’m luckier than a lot of trainers,” O’Brien said, “because I’ve got a great team of people around me.”
