Johnny Ward on Joseph O'Brien's 1000th winner: 'He’s very, very hungry' Joseph O’Brien reached a major career milestone this week when saddling his 1,000th flat winner, our pundits described as “hugely impressive” for a trainer still only 32 years of age. Speaking on the show, the panel emphasised just how extraordinary the achievement is given Joseph’s relative youth and the scale of his operation. Ward also recalled a piece written by Don McClean, in which McClean described having breakfast with the O’Brien family years ago, when Joseph was barely walking: “Don McClean wrote about having breakfast with them one day, and Joseph was probably not even barely walking, and his ears pricked when they started talking about racing. So from the get-go he was going to get into this.” Work ethic and future ambitions The panel highlighted Joseph’s hunger, work ethic, and organisational ability - qualities that have propelled him to this milestone at speed: “He’s very, very hungry, and I don’t know how he manages all those horses, but he has a very good team behind him. “What his ambitions are will be interesting. I’m sure he wants to be champion flat trainer. “It is some hell of an achievement. He’s humble too, a lot like his dad, in the sense that he wouldn’t be bigging himself up.” The panel also discussed the wider O’Brien family legacy, with Joseph continuing to refine and modernise methods passed down through generations. “I like the fact that he goes back to his grandfather - that gallop he’s tweaked. There’s that historic lineage as well.” Watch the full Irish Anlge Show
