'I rode Thistlecrack every day and he felt even better than Cue Card - but you always dream it'll be you getting the leg up on the track'
Paul O'Brien talks to James Burn about finally breaking through in the saddle after years of hard graft
Jockeys probably do not come more self-effacing than Paul O'Brien, but there is nothing modest about the contacts book and list of supporters he has managed to put to good use in the last couple of seasons.
The 32-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last term when he rode 37 winners, nearly trebling his previous best tally of 14, and this season has seen him enjoy the biggest success of his career when he won the Betfair Exchange Trophy at Ascot just before Christmas on the Nicky Henderson-trained Luccia.
O'Brien started riding out for Henderson via his link with Henrietta Knight, the County Cork native having long been among the jockeys Knight likes to use for schooling sessions, while Harry Derham – a rising star of the training world – has nailed his colours firmly to O'Brien's mast and Warren Greatrex also turned to the rider when he needed a partner for Bill Baxter on the big stage in Newbury's Coral Gold Cup.
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