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Trainer profile

Charles O'Brien

295 runners in the last 5 seasons · 22 individual horses
As at 21 Oct 2026 · KTB archive: 2005–present, updated daily
Last runner 2 days ago
Last 5 seasons Lifetime (2008→)
from 1 Jan 2022
16–295
Wins / Runs
5.4%
Strike rate
n=295
69 (23%)
Placed
0.75
Fair A/E
n=295 · 0.60 incl. margin
−130.63
£1 level stake
n=295 at SP · −44.3%
£689k
Prize money (window)
Strike by season
3.7%
KTB Yard Profile

Sends out around 60 runners a season, across both codes, winning with 5% of them — a touch below the margin-free market read across five seasons (Fair A/E 0.75). In Group and Graded company the record reads 8% (37 runs).

Deterministic profile computed from 295 archived runs (last 5 seasons) · updated 21 Oct 2026
KTB at a glance Claiming riders: 7.8% Group/Graded: 8.1%
The read

The record is strongest at Curragh (12.9%, n=70), clear of the yard's 5.4% baseline. It is weakest at Gowran Park (0% over 34 runners) — the widest gap in the record. Horses returning fresh after 61+ days have been a poor signal at 1.6% (n=61, Fair A/E 0.35). The yard also reads well over 6f – 7f (9.6%, n=94). The record reads poorly over 1m – 1m1f — 0% over 33 runners, 5.4pts below the baseline. 21 Group and Graded wins sit in the archive record — the biggest prize the yard has landed: the Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund 'Bold Lad' Sprint Handicap at Curragh (Sep 2023, £88,500). The stable star of the record: Big Gossey (IRE) — 12 wins from 96 runs for the yard.

Written from the figures on this page — every claim carries its sample. Descriptive, not a tip.

Yard patterns

the angles behind the record · vs 5.4% baseline
Fresh · 61+ days off
1.6%−3.8
n=61 · A/E 0.35 · £1 −44.00
New recruits · first run for the yard
0%−5.4
n=2 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −2.00
Debutants · first career start
0%−5.4
n=13 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −13.00
First-time headgear · true-first definition
7.1%+1.7
n=14 · A/E 1.28 · £1 −10.00
Headgear returns · back on after a bare run
0%−5.4
n=18 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −18.00
When favourite
30%
n=20 · A/E 1.23 · £1 −2.38
Claiming riders · a claimer in the saddle
7.8%+2.4
n=103 · A/E 0.98 · £1 −47.13
Group / Graded races · pattern & listed
8.1%+2.7
n=37 · A/E 1.08 · £1 +0.50

Each tile is the record in that situation vs the 5.4% baseline — descriptive splits with the sample always shown, not tips. Tiles under 30 runs render muted. Headgear figures use the true-first definition (first gear appearance in the captured career); returns are gear back on after a bare run. Claiming riders are runs where the booked rider carried a weight claim. Group / Graded covers pattern and listed races.

Notable angles

vs their own baseline
At Curragh 12.9% vs 5.4% · n=70
With C&D winners 11.5% vs 5.4% · n=61
With Robert Whearty 12.5% vs 5.4% · n=32
Over 6f – 7f 9.6% vs 5.4% · n=94
At Gowran Park 0% vs 5.4% · n=34
Over 1m – 1m1f 0% vs 5.4% · n=33
Descriptive splits ranked by divergence × sample — insight, not instruction. Every angle carries its N; nothing under 30 runs qualifies. Rows within 2pts of the baseline appear only when the market-relative read (Fair A/E) diverges, and show it.

Record by conditions

same window as header

Race type

TypeRWSR£1
Flat 212 12 5.7% −70.04
Hurdle 74 3 4.1% −63.59
NH Flat 8 1 12.5% +4.00
Chase 1 0 0% −1.00

Going

GoingRWSR£1
Soft 96 6 6.3% −34.26
Good 80 5 6.3% −39.62
Heavy 45 2 4.4% −15.25
Standard (AW) 40 1 2.5% −23.00
Good to Soft 29 2 6.9% −13.50
Good to Firm 5 0 0% −5.00

Courses

CourseRWSR£1
Curragh 70 9 12.9% +46.96
Dundalk (AW) 40 1 2.5% −23.00
Gowran Park 34 0 0% −34.00
Naas 29 0 0% −29.00
Fairyhouse 17 0 0% −17.00
Navan 16 0 0% −16.00
Punchestown 15 0 0% −15.00
Leopardstown 13 0 0% −13.00
Limerick 9 0 0% −9.00
Clonmel 9 2 22.2% −3.59
Cork 8 0 0% −8.00
Roscommon 7 1 14.3% −3.00
Tipperary 4 0 0% −4.00
Kilbeggan 4 0 0% −4.00
Down Royal 3 1 33.3% +1.00

Class

ClassRWSR£1
Class 1 37 3 8.1% +0.50

Market position

In the bettingRWSRA/E£1
Favourite 23 6 26.1% 1.11 −5.38
2nd–3rd fav 47 3 6.4% 0.45 −34.25
4th–6th fav 69 2 2.9% 0.38 −44.00
7th+ in betting 156 5 3.2% 1.20 −47.00
Fair A/E per band is the tell: near 1.00 the market had it priced right; well above, the wins came where the market didn't expect them.

Rows below n=30 are shown faded — a small sample is a fact, not a trend. Every figure carries its N.

Horses trained

same window as header · most-raced first
HorseRWPlLast ran
Big Gossey (IRE) 70 8 28 10 Oct 26
Paradise Lost (IRE) 32 1 8 15 Oct 26
No Big Deal (IRE) 25 1 7 13 Oct 26
Pavilion End (GB) 22 1 6 13 Oct 26
Miss Americana (GB) 17 0 5 19 Oct 26
Shimmerz (IRE)from D J Bunyan 17 1 1 4 Aug 25
Silas Marner (IRE)then Sabrina J Harty 17 0 2 13 Jun 25
Mastermind (IRE)then Alan Fleming 16 0 2 17 Nov 23
Juno Beach (IRE) 15 0 2 11 Jun 23
Appian Way (FR)then Gordon Elliott 10 2 5 7 Oct 22
Historical Fact (IRE) 7 0 0 23 Apr 25
Little Wing (IRE) 6 0 0 19 Oct 26
All 22 horses sent out in this window. Runs, wins and places only: a strike rate or a return on a handful of runs is noise, so none is quoted per horse — each horse's full record is on its own page.
Where they came from · where they went next

Of the 22 horses listed, 2 arrived from another yard in our archive; 20 had their first archived run for this yard.

7 have since run for another yard; 15 have no later run for another yard in our archive.

Read from each listed horse's whole archived career (2005 onwards), not only this window, and counted over the horses listed above, not the whole string. “First archived run” means our archive holds nothing earlier, not that the horse was unraced. A horse with no later run elsewhere may still be here, be off the track, or have run somewhere our archive does not cover — none of that is asserted.

Current form

significance-gated

Last 14 days

Small sample
0 from 6
Only 6 runners in the last 14 days — too few to read against the baseline (gate: n≥15). The card states the sample and stays neutral.

When the yard fires

strike by month, 5 seasons
JFMAMJJASOND
5083448367130
A flat yard: the season runs Mar–Oct. Muted months are small samples (under 30 runs) — read them with the caution they deserve.

Jockey bookings

same window · biggest samples first
Go-to riderRobert Whearty
11% of all rides
12.5% SR · A/E 1.38
RiderRWSR£1
Robert Whearty 32 4 12.5% +3.58
Muted rows are under 30 rides and sit behind "Show all".

Career highlights

lifetime archive, 2005→
206
Archived wins
21
Pattern / graded wins
£4.06m
Prize money
2007
Best season · 18 wins
In our archive from its very first year (2005), so this career almost certainly began earlier than our record does. The figures above count 2005 onwards only — what the archive holds, not a full-career total. This card is the full archive census (2005→); the statistics in the header aggregate from 2008 — the floor that guarantees every horse a complete captured career — so this card can legitimately show more wins than the header.
Big Gossey (IRE) — Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund 'Bold Lad' Sprint Handicap (Premier Handicap) Curragh · Sep 2023
£88,500
Big Gossey (IRE) — Irish Stallion Farms EBF 'Bold Lad' Sprint Handicap (Premier Handicap) Curragh · Sep 2021
£73,750
Grecian Dancer (GB) — Ridgewood Pearl Stakes (Fillies Group 3) Curragh · May 2008 · Group 3
£61,750
Notable horses
Big Gossey (IRE) Bewitched (IRE) Hurricane Sky (IRE) Stocktons Wing (IRE) Grecian Dancer (GB) Concrete And Clay (GB)

Sires in the string

progeny record · win % by ground and trip
Gutaifan (IRE) 11.4% · 8–70
Progeny have won 8.9% of 3,748 runs since 2008 (301 horses).
Australia (GB) 3.1% · 1–32
Progeny have won 11.2% of 5,639 runs since 2008 (563 horses). Weakest over 2m5f – 3m (all codes): 6.5% from 108.
Zoffany (IRE) 4% · 1–25
Progeny have won 9.9% of 10,761 runs since 2008 (799 horses).
Jack Hobbs (GB) 4.5% · 1–22
Progeny have won 10.2% of 1,064 runs since 2008 (201 horses). Strongest over 2m5f – 3m (all codes): 17.6% from 119.
Camelot (GB) 0% · 0–17
Progeny have won 11.7% of 7,680 runs since 2008 (752 horses).
Fast Company (IRE) 5.9% · 1–17
Progeny have won 9.4% of 7,590 runs since 2008 (492 horses). Strongest on Heavy going: 12.7% from 557. Strongest over 2m5f – 3m (all codes): 12.8% from 109.
Top line: the yard's own record with each sire's runners (win %, wins–runs), same window as the header; faded under 30 runs. Beneath it: every run by that sire's progeny in our archive since 2008, as at 21 Oct 2026 — what they have done, not a forecast. A going or a distance is named only where at least 100 progeny runs sit 3 or more points from the sire's own win rate. Distance bands cover Flat and jumps together.

The record

latest 50 of 2,542 · newest first

The latest 50 of 2,542 archived runners, newest first. The full record runs from 30 January 2005 to 19 October 2026.

DateCourseHorseRaceFinishSP
19 Oct 26 Gowran Park (IRE) Miss Americana (GB)J: Keithen Kennedy Racing Club Membership Handicap (Div II)8.5f · Soft · 15 ran 5th 5/1J
19 Oct 26 Gowran Park (IRE) Little Wing (IRE)J: W. J. Lee Dine At Gowran Park Handicap7f · Yielding · 13 ran 9th 33/1
15 Oct 26 Curragh (IRE) Paradise Lost (IRE)J: Julian Pietropaolo Isuzu Ireland Handicap14f · Yielding To Soft · 21 ran 6th 14/1
13 Oct 26 Punchestown (IRE) No Big Deal (IRE)J: Mark Walsh William Hill Challenge Series Handicap Hurdle (Div II)20f · Good · 17 ran 9th 5/1
13 Oct 26 Punchestown (IRE) Pavilion End (GB)J: Mark Walsh William Hill Challenge Series Handicap Hurdle16f · Good · 11 ran 10th 11/2
10 Oct 26 Naas (IRE) Big Gossey (IRE)J: Robert Whearty RFL Steels Stakes (Listed)Class 1 · 6f · Soft · 9 ran 2nd 6/1
04 Oct 26 Curragh (IRE) Big Gossey (IRE)J: Robert Whearty Coolmore Sioux Nation Concorde Stakes (Listed)Class 1 · 7f · Soft · 10 ran 5th 6/1
02 Oct 26 Gowran Park (IRE) Paradise Lost (IRE)J: Mark Walsh Paddy Monaghan 90th Birthday Handicap Hurdle20f · Good · 14 ran 5th 13/2
02 Oct 26 Gowran Park (IRE) No Big Deal (IRE)J: Mark Walsh Racing TV Handicap Hurdle (Div I)20f · Good · 20 ran 4th 9/2
27 Sep 26 Curragh (IRE) Big Gossey (IRE)J: Robert Whearty Qatar Racing And Equestrian Club Renaissance Stakes (Group 3)Class 1 · 6f · Heavy · 7 ran 2nd 12/1
19 Sep 26 Navan (IRE) No Big Deal (IRE)J: Jordan Gainford Millbrook Food Group 100 Years Celebration Handicap Hurdle (Div II)19f · Good · 16 ran 8th 7/1
18 Sep 26 Dundalk (AW) (IRE) Pavilion End (GB)J: Sam Coen Start Your Racing TV Free Trial Now Apprentice Handicap12f · Standard · 10 ran 9th 11/4F
18 Sep 26 Dundalk (AW) (IRE) Little Wing (IRE)J: Declan McDonogh Friday Night Lights Are Back At Dundalk Handicap7f · Standard · 14 ran 13th 50/1
15 Sep 26 Punchestown (IRE) Miss Americana (GB)J: Nathan Crosse Festival 2027 On Sale Soon Handicap (Div II)9f · Good · 13 ran 5th 4/1J
13 Sep 26 Curragh (IRE) Big Gossey (IRE)J: W J Lee BAR 1 Betting Flying Five Stakes (Group 1)Class 1 · 5f · Yielding · 17 ran 10th 40/1
01 Sep 26 Gowran Park (IRE) Miss Americana (GB)J: Keithen Kennedy Societies Welcome At Gowran Park Apprentice Handicap8f · Yielding · 16 ran 3rd 6/1
29 Aug 26 Curragh (IRE) Big Gossey (IRE)J: Sam Coen Tote Irish Cambridgeshire8f · Good · 17 ran 9th 25/1
20 Aug 26 Leopardstown (IRE) Pavilion End (GB)J: Declan McDonogh Money Back Daily Specials With Tote.ie Handicap13f · Good To Yielding · 11 ran 3rd 11/1
09 Aug 26 Curragh (IRE) Big Gossey (IRE)J: W J Lee FBD Hotels And Resorts Phoenix Sprint Stakes (Group 3)Class 1 · 6f · Good To Firm · 5 ran 5th 7/2
06 Aug 26 Leopardstown (IRE) Little Wing (IRE)J: Declan McDonogh Renault Ireland Handicap9f · Good · 22 ran 21st 66/1

Drawn from the whole archive (2005 onwards), so it can include runs outside the window the header statistics cover. Non-runners are not listed. A finish shown in letters is a non-completion (F fell · UR unseated · PU pulled up · BD brought down).

Quick answers

What is Charles O'Brien's strike rate?
Charles O'Brien has won 16 of 295 runners since 2022, a strike rate of 5.4% (as at 21 October 2026). Figures are computed from our own results archive.
Which course does Charles O'Brien do best at?
Curragh by strike rate: 9 wins from 70 runners (12.9%) since 2022. Read from the 15 courses with the most runners on the same basis, and only those with at least 30 — a small sample cannot top the list, and a rarely-visited course is not in the comparison.
Is Charles O'Brien in form?
Too few runners in the last 14 days to read — 6 runners, which is not a sample we will draw a conclusion from.
What is Charles O'Brien's Fair A/E?
0.75, from 295 runners with a computed fair probability since 2022. Fair A/E compares actual wins with a margin-stripped market expectation, so 1.00 is par: above it the wins came at bigger prices than the margin-free market implied, below it they did not.
Fair A/E compares wins with a margin-stripped market expectation. Favourite-heavy samples — top yards, leading riders — naturally read a few points warm, so 1.05 means "beat the margin-free market read", not "the market underrates this by 5%". Three sample sizes are reported and never blended: runs (n), the ROI basis (n at SP), and the fair-A/E basis (n with a computed fair probability).

Strike rate is wins over all runs (n). ROI is £1 level stakes at SP over runs with a parseable price (n at SP). Fair A/E is wins over margin-stripped market expectation, over runs with a computed fair probability (n fair). The three Ns can legitimately differ and are always shown. Figures as at 21 October 2026, computed from our own results archive (2005 onwards; aggregates from 2008).