Tom O'Brien (born 1986) is a British-based

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

jockey who competes in

National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

-born O'Brien began his career in racing by riding out for his uncle Shay Slevin before starting to ride out for another uncle,

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

, where he rode champion horses such as

High Chaparral High Chaparral (1 March 1999 – 21 December 2014) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from September 2001 to October 2003, he ran 13 times and won 10 races. His win in the Racing Post Trophy made him on ...

and Rock of Gibraltar. After riding in point-to-points, O'Brien moved to England in 2004 to work at the stable of Philip Hobbs in Minehead, Somerset. He has remained at the same stable since 2004, becoming first jockey for Hobbs when

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

retired in 2021. In the 2005/06 season, O'Brien was crowned champion amateur rider with 32 winners, Captain Corelli in the Tommy Whittle Chase at

Haydock Park Haydock Park Racecourse is a racecourse in Merseyside, North West England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, the racecourse is set in an area of parkland bounded by the towns of Haydock to the west, Ashton-in-Makerfield ...

. He turned professional in June of that year, winning two races at his first professional race meeting. In the 2006/07 season he was champion

conditional jockey A conditional jockey is an apprentice National Hunt racing jockey in Great Britain or Ireland under the age of 26 who has not won more than seventy-five races under rules or had not won that many races within the last six months. A conditional joc ...

. In 2007 O'Brien rode McKelvey, trained by Peter Bowen, into second place behind

Silver Birch ''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...

in the

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap st ...

. In the 2008 Grand National, McKelvey unseated O'Brien at the twentieth fence, went on to jump the next fence riderless, fell and was euthanized. O'Brien achieved his first

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...

win in 2009 when he rode Silk Affair to victory in the Fred Winter Juvenile Novices' Handicap Hurdle. O'Brien won the

Welsh Grand National The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Chepstow, Wales, over a distance of abo ...

on Dream Alliance, trained by Hobbs, in 2009 and Elegant Escape, trained by

Colin Tizzard Colin Tizzard (born 7 January 1956) is a British racehorse trainer specializing in National Hunt racing. He held a full training licence from 1998 until 2022. In 2010 Tizzard trained Cue Card to victory in the Cheltenham Festival Champion Bumpe ...

, in 2018. In August 2021 O'Brien reached a landmark of 1,000 winners in Britain and Ireland, one of only seven current jump jockeys to do so. All but one of the wins were in Britain; O'Brien's only victory in Ireland was on I Hear A Symphony for Philip Hobbs at the

Punchestown Festival Punchestown Racecourse is located in the parish of Eadestown, between the R410 and R411 regional roads near Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland. It is known as the home of Irish Jumps Racing and plays host to the annual Punchestown Irish Nationa ...

in 2008. O'Brien and wife Hayley have two sons.

Major wins

Great Britain * Challow Novices' Hurdle - (1) - ''Souffleur (2009)'' * Tolworth Hurdle - (2) - ''Finian's Oscar (2017), Elixir Du Nutz (2019)'' * Liverpool Hurdle - (1) ''Thyme Hill (2021)'' *

Kauto Star Novices' Chase The Kauto Star Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres ...

- (1) - '' Thyme Hill (2022) ''

References

External links

Tom O'Brien statistics in Racing Post
Irish jockeys 1986 births Living people Lester Award winners {{Ireland-horseracing-bio-stub