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Ever other year Aiden proclaims one of his current crop is ‘the best horse he has ever trained’ but who would you say it was?
I’d say Arc winner Dylan Thomas.
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Heart says Yeats, Head says Istabraq, went with my head in the end.
Interesting Excelebration has a vote, Spent a fair bit of his career at Botti’s and spent another fair bit being a furlong behind Frankel!
Interesting to list Aiden’s horses like this. It strikes me that he is unconcerned about defeat; has not wrapped his horses in cotton wool.
My short list is:
Istabraq
Galileo
Rock Of Gibraltar
Duke Of Marmalade
Giant’s CausewayHas to be Istabraq for me as possibly the greatest hurdler I have seen, but he has not so far trained a great on the flat.
I am sorry but Dylan Thomas was not a patch on Rock of Gibraltar or Giant’s Causeway
I didn’t know a horse from a cow until 2005 so although seeing clips of the Rock and Giant had to vote for one I won a bet or 2 on.
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Surely Istabraq shoul have been omitted from the poll?
The best flat horse O’Brien has had so far was Hawk Wing on talent alone, Excelebration on form or Galileo in terms of untapped potential.
Camelot !
Well, if Aidan says so…
But seriously,
for me, Galileo is the best horse he has trained.
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Galileo
would be my selection of Best horse Nath,his Derby victory was that of a horse with masses of improvement to come still.My favourite O’brien horse is
Duke of Marmalade
closely followed by
Dylan Thomas
.
The most hyped O’Brien horse wasOne Cool Cat
,followed by
Hawk wing
,followed by
Camelot
. I really dont understand why Aiden publicly announces the brilliance of these 3 horses when the formbook tells us the complete opposite.The amount of superlatives that followed ‘One Cool cat’ that were clearly wrong should not have been following ‘Camelot’….Some folk never learn!
Rock of Gibraltor
would be his best Miler too and
Stravinsky
his best sprinter and
Yeats
his best stayer imo.
Hawk Wing 5 wins from 21! Excelebration
Istabraq flat bred 2 wins from 11 on the flat,all getting votes Surely Rock Of Gibraltar,Galileo and So You Think have their measure!Hawk Wing 5 wins from 21! Excelebration
Istabraq flat bred 2 wins from 11 on the flat,all getting votes Surely Rock Of Gibraltar,Galileo and So You Think have their measure!Whats Istabraq’s flat record got to do with it?n It’s the best horse O’Brien has trained, not the best horse he’s trained on the flat.
A simple look at his Cheltenham record shows why he is the best Aidan has trained.
Hawk Wing 5 wins from 21! Excelebration
Istabraq flat bred 2 wins from 11 on the flat,all getting votes Surely Rock Of Gibraltar,Galileo and So You Think have their measure!Whats Istabraq’s flat record got to do with it?n It’s the best horse O’Brien has trained, not the best horse he’s trained on the flat.
A simple look at his Cheltenham record shows why he is the best Aidan has trained.
Get real he was a flat bred horse and an ordinary one who wouldn’t have made a decent gallop partner for AOB’s best,he was a great jumper,but not in the same postcode in ability as some of the horses listed!We are talking about his best horse not his best jumper!
Istabraq is the best hurdler I’ve seen and obviously the best National Hunt horse that O’Brien has trained.
As for the flat I’d go for this as my top ten of his horses:
1. Hawk Wing
2. Galileo
3. Rock Of Gibraltar
4. Giant’s Causeway
5. High Chaparral
6. Dylan Thomas
7. Excelebration
8. George Washington
9. Henrythenavigator
10. So You ThinkI’d also give a special mention to Johannesburg as he’s the most talented 2yo O’Brien has trained in my opinion. He had an electrifying turn of foot and he ended his superb 2yo campaign with a brilliant win on the dirt in the 2001 Breeders Cup Juvenile. Shame he didn’t retain his ability as a 3yo.
Galileo
would be my selection of Best horse Nath,his Derby victory was that of a horse with masses of improvement to come still.My favourite O’brien horse is
Duke of Marmalade
closely followed by
Dylan Thomas
.
The most hyped O’Brien horse wasOne Cool Cat
,followed by
Hawk wing
,followed by
Camelot
. I really dont understand why Aiden publicly announces the brilliance of these 3 horses when the formbook tells us the complete opposite.The amount of superlatives that followed ‘One Cool cat’ that were clearly wrong should not have been following ‘Camelot’….Some folk never learn!
Rock of Gibraltor
would be his best Miler too and
Stravinsky
his best sprinter and
Yeats
his best stayer imo.
Without a Spencer cock-up The Rock wouldn’t have even been the best 3yo miler in the yard!
Istabraq flat bred 2 wins from 11 on the flat,all getting votes 
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