John Oxx

John M. Oxx (born 14 July 1950) is a retired Irish trainer of thoroughbred racehorses. By the end of the 2009 season Oxx had trained 35 Group One winners over his career, including the winners of 11 Classic races. He is best known as the trainer of Sinndar and Sea The Stars.

Oxx has been widely praised for the care and undemonstrative authority with which he approaches the training and racing of his horses.McGrath, Chris
"The greatest horse of all time?"
''The Independent'', 3 October 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
He is particularly known for being highly selective when choosing when and where his horses will run."John Oxx"
''Horse Racing Ireland'', October 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2012.Cook, Chris
"John Oxx targets his latest English Classic win with Born to Sea"
''The Observer'', 28 April 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.

Family background, education and early training

John Oxx is the son of John Oxx Sr., who was himself a successful trainer, winning eight Irish classic races. In 1950 Oxx's father purchased Currabeg, at the southwestern end of the Curragh in County Kildare, where Oxx Jr. took over training. He graduated from University College, Dublin, as a veterinary surgeon in 1973, and worked as his father's assistant before taking over the stable in 1979. In that year he had his first win and his first Group win with Orchestra.Holland, Anne. ''Sea The Stars: The World's Best Racehorse'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (2009), p.48

Career as a trainer

First successes

Oxx's first Classic win came with Eurobird in the Irish St Leger of 1987. He had a further success in the same race with Petite Ile two years later. In 1995 he trained Ridgewood Pearl, bred and owned by Sean and Anne Coughlan, to victories in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp, and the Breeders' Cup Mile at Belmont Park, in America, meaning that the filly had six wins from eight races and that she had won Group One races in four different countries in the same season.Holland, Anne. ''Sea The Stars: The World's Best Racehorse'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (2009), pp.48–9"Ten Best Horses: John Oxx at 60", ''The Racing Post'', 14 July 2010
Link to the article on The Free Library.
Retrieved 31 October 2012.

Association with the Aga Khan

The Aga Khan began to support Oxx's yard with a number of yearlings after Eurobird's win in 1987. When he decided to withdraw his racehorses from England following Aliysa's disqualification in The Oaks of 1989, he established a significant presence in Oxx's yard. Without a budget of his own to spend on yearlings, Oxx continued to be reliant on horses bred by owners with whom he had an association. In some years, he conceded, "you wouldn't have anything remotely near Group One standard".

Many of Oxx's major race wins have come from Aga Khan-owned horses, beginning with Manntari's victory in the National Stakes at the Curragh in 1993, and continuing with Timarida's win in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in 1996, followed by Ebadiyla's victory in the 1997 Irish Oaks. Oxx also won that race with Winona the following year.Holland, Anne. ''Sea The Stars: The World's Best Racehorse'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (2009), p.49 In 2000 Oxx trained the Aga Khan's brilliant Sinndar to wins in the Epsom Derby, the Irish Derby, and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, making the colt the only horse ever to have won that trio of races and at that time one of only three Irish-based horses that had ever won the Arc.

The partnership also had successes with Alamshar, who won the Irish Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot; with Azamour, winner of the St. James's Palace Stakes, the Irish Champion Stakes, the Prince of Wales Stakes and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2004 and 2005; and with Kastoria, whose 2006 season included a win in the Irish St. Leger.

Sea The Stars

Oxx came to wider public attention when guiding Sea The Stars through a famous 2009 season in which he won Group One races in England, Ireland and France, his six consecutive triumphs including the 2,000 Guineas, The Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Oxx was typically understated when assessing the role of the trainer in the career of a great horse like Sea The Stars. "You can't give them ability they don't have," he told ''The Independent'' newspaper. "Really, it's just a case of not messing it up – not to overtax the horse too soon, or ask it to do stupid things as a two-year-old. If you mind him sufficiently when he's young, hopefully his ability will blossom."

In an interview with ''The Observer'', Oxx said of Sea The Stars: "I was always reading about racing and great horses of the past. So when you grow up with the history of racing and the history of breeding, the landmark horses that come along over a century, and more – to train one that's in that league gives you the greatest satisfaction."

Official positions

Oxx served as chairman of the Irish National Stud from 1985 to 1990; he was chairman of the Irish Racehorse Trainers' Association from 1986 to 1991 and from 1993 to 1996; he has served on numerous other racing bodies and is chairman of the Racing Academy and Centre of Education

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