An outstanding year for the master of Ballydoyle
Sam Turner assesses the powerful Aidan O'Brien juvenile squad
What a year for Aidan O'Brien. Another champion juvenile and nearly a third of the two-year-olds in the 2016 European Thoroughbred Rankings.
The statistics make impressive reading, providing solid evidence that the master of Ballydoyle will have a large pool of three-year-old talent at his disposal this year.
Forty-seven juveniles have been awarded ratings of 110 or more in this year's rankings, a fraction below the ten-year average. Churchill leads the way, with the Dewhurst winner awarded 122 after winning his fifth consecutive race on the Rowley Mile in October.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inIn Focus
Last updated
Copy- Next Gen: meet the conditional jockeys who could become big names this jumps season
- ‘Even the rich ones tend to be cash-poor and racing requires you to be cash-rich’ - the changing role of the aristocracy in racing
- How two brothers took a vice-like grip on France’s Arc challenge - one that’s been a century in the making
- ‘People are rich and they like to gamble too’ - inside a country dreaming big even while only a handful of people turn up to a Classic
- ‘Once upon a time you’d see tumbleweeds blowing across the gallops’ - the resurrection of a once-mighty training centre
- Next Gen: meet the conditional jockeys who could become big names this jumps season
- ‘Even the rich ones tend to be cash-poor and racing requires you to be cash-rich’ - the changing role of the aristocracy in racing
- How two brothers took a vice-like grip on France’s Arc challenge - one that’s been a century in the making
- ‘People are rich and they like to gamble too’ - inside a country dreaming big even while only a handful of people turn up to a Classic
- ‘Once upon a time you’d see tumbleweeds blowing across the gallops’ - the resurrection of a once-mighty training centre