Past meets present as Derby talk swirls around Ballydoyle

Where Ballydoyle and Coolmore
When Monday, May 14
Reason Investec-backed Derby visit

Almost 70 years ago, Vincent O'Brien was looking around for a new yard. He had trained Cheltenham Gold Cup winners and Champion Hurdle winners from the stables and gallops of his half-brother Donal, but, being the visionary he was, he had his sights set far beyond the horizon.

He and his brother Dermot combed the green fields of Kildare, Limerick and Tipperary looking for a suitable place and in 1950 they lit upon Ballydoyle. The purchase price was 17,000 Irish punts, and O'Brien wrote a cheque to a Mr Sadler, an auctioneer, for the 285-acre property. The estate needed some work.