Joseph O'Brien is far too composed to toss his top hat in the air but he could still bring up a big hat-trick at Royal Ascot on Wednesday. Coming into this year's meeting, the two-time Melbourne Cup winning handler - who won five times here as a jockey - had just one Royal Ascot training success, last year's Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner State of Rest.
O'Brien's training operation has skyrocketed since he started just seven years ago, following a brief but brilliant career in the saddle that produced 30 Group One successes, including ten Classics. He saddled four winners on his first day - including with his very first representative. Some say he's lucky but he’s also very good, with a work ethic and attention to detail as ferocious as his father.
However, one win leaves him a long way short of Aidan's dizzying tally of royal meeting winners but O’Brien could edge closer with three top hopes on Wednesday. He fires YERWANTREE at the Kensington Palace Fillies' Handicap (3.05pm), with top Kiwi jockey James McDonald booked.
