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In short, Aidan O’Brien has never won the British jump trainers’ title, but it would be fair to say that is the only accolade missing from his enviable training CV. Born and raised in County Wexford, O’Brien, 55, took over the licence at the family yard in Piltown, County Kilkenny from his wife, Anne-Marie (née Crowley), in 1993 and went on to win the Irish jump trainers’ title five years running between 1993/94 and 1997/98. On the opposite side of the Irish Sea, he became best known for his handling of Istabraq, owned by J.P. McManus, who won the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival three years running, in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

In 1996, O’Brien was approached by John Magnier, founder of Coolmore Stud, with a view to replacing his unrelated namesake Vincent O’Brien as his private trainer as Ballydoyle Racing Stable in County Tipperary. At the helm of what is widely considered to to be the finest training establishment in the world, O’Brien won the Irish flat trainers’ title for the first time in 1997 and, while he ceded the crown to Dermot Weld in 1998, regained it the following year and has remained the perennial champion ever since.

In Britain, O’Brien became champion trainer for the first time in 2001, making him the first Irishman since Vincent O’Brien, 30 years earlier, to do so. He has since won the British flat trainers’ championship five more times, in 2002, 2007, 2008, 2016 and 2017, placing him joint-sixth, alongside Fred Darling, on the all-time list.

The term ‘Thoroughbred’, written with an initial capital letter, refers to a breed of horses, to which all racehorses belong. Of course, the term ‘throughbred’ is used to describe to any pureblooded horse, of unmixed ancestry or descent, but, strictly speaking, refers exclusively to the Thoroughbred breed.

The Throughbred breed of horses was originally developed in Britain by crossing Arabian stallions with heavier native mares, thereby producing offspring blessed with both speed and stamina. Indeed, the ancestry of the breed can be traced back to three so-called foundation sires – namely the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian – who were imported to Britain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. That said, the origin of the Byerley Turk is disputed and he may, in fact, have been foaled in Britain, but if there is insufficient evidence either way.

As a compound adjective, ‘Thoroughbred’ was first recorded around the turn of the eighteenth century and, obviously, formed by combining the adjective ‘thorough’, in the sense of ‘complete in every regard’, with the past participle of the verb ‘to breed’. Students of etymology may be interested to know that ‘thorough’ and ‘breed’ ancient words, both of which were first recorded before the end of the first millenium CE. ‘Thorough’ is derived from the Old English word ‘thuruh’, which in turn is a variant of ‘thurh’, meaning ‘through’. The verb ‘to breed’, on the other hand, comes from the Middle English word ‘breden’, which had its roots in the Old English word ‘bredan’, meaning ‘to nourish’.

The first Grade 1 steeplechase of the British National Hunt season is the Lancashire Chase, better known, for sponsorship purposes, as the Betfair Chase, which is run at Haydock Park in November. In fact, at the time of writing, the next renewal is scheduled for November 23, 2024, making the race the first Grade 1 contest, of any description, on the 2024/25 National Hunt calendar.

The Betfair Chase is run over a distance of three miles and one and a half furlongs and, novice chases aside, is one of just four Grade 1 steeplechases over distances of three miles or beyond during the season. The others are the King George VI Chase, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Aintree Bowl. In fact, at various points in its history, the Betfair Chase has served as the first leg of two £1 million bonus schemes, known as the “Betfair Million” and the “Chase Triple Crown”, also involving the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Kauto Star, who won the Betfair Chase four times, King George VI Chase a record five times and the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, collected the Betfair Million in 2008/09.

The Betfair Chase was inaugurated in 2005, but it would be fair to say that the nature of the race has changed in recent years. In 2008/09, the once-famous, permanent drop fences at Haydock Park were replaced with less demanding, portable versions, in 2013/14, the Betfair Chase, along with all steeplechases run at the Merseyide course, was transferred to the outer Flat course and , in 2017/18, the distance was increased by a furlong and a half.

The 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships is due to be held at Del Mar Racetrack in Southern California in early November and, as is customary, will be a two-day, season-ending spectacle, featuring the crème de la crème of thoroughbred talent not just from North America but from around the world .

The Breeders’ Cup was, in fact, the brainchild of visionary thoroughbred pioneer John R. Gaines, who on April 23, 1982 announced plans for a year-end championship day of racing, at a major venue, in an effort to sell the sport to the general public. The inaugural Breeders’ Cup – a one-day, seven-race affair, but nonetheless worth $15 million in total prize money – was duly staged at the now-defunct Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California on November 10, 1984.

The Breeders’ Cup has since been staged annually at various iconic venues across North America, all bar one of which have been in the United States, and in 2007 was extended to two days. The current programme features 14 Grade 1 races, in a variety of disciplines and age ranges, on dirt and turf, each worth $1 million and, collectively, worth $28 million. The so-called Breeders’ Cup Challenge series consists of qualifying “Win & You’re In” races across the United States and around the world, each offering automatic, free entry into the corresponding Championship race. In Britain, for example, both the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot offer automatic entry into the Breeders’ Cup Turf.