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Noel O'Brien an inherently decent person who earned everyone's respect
Noel O'Brien: wasn't afraid to speak his mind or fight his cornerCredit: Patrick McCann
The reality of never again encountering Noel O’Brien on a racecourse is a woefully solemn thought that will take time to absorb.
If there exists a more universally popular and likeable human being in any facet of Irish racing’s bubble, they don’t readily come to mind.
Many of O’Brien’s regulatory and administrative colleagues and peers in the Turf Club and Horse Racing Ireland will be all too familiar with the confrontational nature that at times is unavoidably synonymous with positions of authority.
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Richard ForristalIreland editor
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more inComment
- We know that times are tight - but racecourses really do need to step up and improve outdated weighing rooms
- The budget has heaped even more trouble on racing - and I fear many trainers will now decide the numbers just don't add up
- Why I think Cheltenham Festival handicaps need to change - JP McManus writes exclusively for the Racing Post
- No-one has ever emerged from the womb wearing a trilby - racing's future survival hangs on pursuing a young audience
- Four score and ten just a number to Peter Harris as July Cup triumph shows there's more to the elderly than medical conditions