Best of the best: a look back at Ballydoyle's greatest runners

It has been 20 years since Aidan O'Brien began to write his name into the Flat record books and then to rewrite them, and along the way many champions have had their names written alongside his.

His has been a remarkable training career, but behind every great trainer is an unrelenting stream of top-class horses, and the great names that have emerged annually from Ballydoyle over the last two decades have lit up the sport at home and abroad. Whether it's training the first three home in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, or winning six Derbys, or 11 Breeders' Cup races, O'Brien has achieved it through a succession of beautifully bred, brilliant individuals – some of whom appear below.

Selecting O'Brien's top ten is a difficult task, and for the ten included there were ten left out who were equally deserving, and 20 more who might easily have found themselves on the list. Many Classic winners were necessarily omitted, many Royal Ascot winners too, and many of those who have contributed so generously to O'Brien's record and reputation over the years.