'He'll make a high-class novice chaser - he could go back to Cheltenham'
The top trainer tells Alan Sweetman about his scaled-down jumps team
The great Alan Rickman was given one of the most memorable lines in modern cinema in his role as Hans Gruber in Die Hard: "And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer."
By the age of 30, Alexander The Great had conquered much of the known world. Joseph O'Brien, who will reach that milestone next May, has done similar in racing, leaving a massive imprint on the sport through his brief but glorious riding career followed by a seamless transition to training.
The analogy with the imperious Alexander crumbles in conversation with the mild-mannered O'Brien, yet the young trainer exudes a sense of purpose that suggests he will always have a hunger for conquest, even when discussing a jumps team that has been significantly curtailed.
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- Richard Hannon: 'He's in the Derby and we were extremely impressed with his win this month - that was no fluke'
- Roger Varian: 'I still think he's unexposed over a mile and a half - but we want to try to win the Prince of Wales's first'
- Jessica Harrington: 'She was second in a Group 1 last year - and it would be fantastic to win one with her'
- Joseph O'Brien: 'He's looked a bit special at home - and it could be straight to Royal Ascot now'
- Tim Easterby: 'He's well handicapped and I'm looking forward to him - we like him a lot'
- Richard Hannon: 'He's in the Derby and we were extremely impressed with his win this month - that was no fluke'
- Roger Varian: 'I still think he's unexposed over a mile and a half - but we want to try to win the Prince of Wales's first'
- Jessica Harrington: 'She was second in a Group 1 last year - and it would be fantastic to win one with her'
- Joseph O'Brien: 'He's looked a bit special at home - and it could be straight to Royal Ascot now'
- Tim Easterby: 'He's well handicapped and I'm looking forward to him - we like him a lot'