Andy Newton
Leading sportsbooks have slashed Aidan O’Brien to 11/4 to rewrite the history books once again by breaking his own world record for the most Group One wins by a trainer in a single calendar year.
The Ballydoyle maestro set the benchmark in 2017, when he saddled an astonishing 28 Group One winners.
Surpassing the previous world record of 25 set by the legendary American trainer Bobby Frankel in 2003.
Nearly a decade later, O’Brien is once again on course to challenge that remarkable horse racing achievement.
Aidan O’Brien Cut to 11/4 to Break His Own World Record for Group One Winners in a Season
Following another hugely successful Royal Ascot with seven more winners – three at Group One level.
Plus a dominant start to the European Flat season, O’Brien has already registered ELEVEN Group One victories during the 2026 season up to 30 June, putting him on virtually the same trajectory as his record-breaking 2017 campaign.
With his most recent Group 1 success Benvenuto Cellini landing last Sunday’s Irish Derby at the Curragh.
Who led home a 1-2-3 for the Ballydoyle handler with Christmas Day and Pierre Bonnard in silver and bronze.
After Eclipse weekend in 2025, O’Brien was on 11 winners, but he’s already reached that tally in 2026. Which is why the bookmakers are cutting his Group 1 winning odds.
Therefore, with the Irish Oaks, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Juddmonte International, St Leger and Irish Champions Festival.
Plus the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting and the autumn juvenile Group Ones still to come, there are plenty of opportunities for O’Brien to surpass his own landmark.
Aidan O’Brien’s 28 Group One Winners in 2017
O’Brien’s record-breaking tally came from 16 different horses, with victories spread across Britain, Ireland, France, the United States and Hong Kong in 2017
- Winter – 1,000 Guineas, Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes, Nassau Stakes
- Churchill – 2,000 Guineas, Irish 2,000 Guineas
- Highland Reel – Coronation Cup, Prince of Wales’s Stakes, Hong Kong Vase
- Rhododendron – Prix de l’Opéra
- Capri – Irish Derby, St Leger
- Caravaggio – Commonwealth Cup
- Seventh Heaven – Yorkshire Oaks
- Order Of St George – Irish St Leger
- Happily – Moyglare Stud Stakes, Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère
- Clemmie – Cheveley Park Stakes
- Mendelssohn – Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf
- Saxon Warrior – Racing Post Trophy
- Hydrangea – Matron Stakes, British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes
- Magical – Fillies’ Mile
- U S Navy Flag – Middle Park Stakes, Dewhurst Stakes
- September – Fillies’ Mile (dead-heat/awarded at Group 1 level in the official season total)
Those victories carried O’Brien beyond Bobby Frankel’s previous record of 25 top-level winners before he eventually finished the year (2017) on 28 Group One successes, a mark that still stands as the world record.
Aidan O’Brien Group One Winners in 2026 (to 30 June)
By the end of June 2026, O’Brien had already trained ELEVEN Group One winners, matching the total he had reached at the same stage of his record-breaking 2017 season.
Those victories include several Classic successes – like True Love taking the English 1000 Guineas.
Another Irish Derby triumph with Benvenuto Cellini, Royal Ascot Group One victories headed by Mission Central and Scandinavia. Plus further top-level wins in Britain, Ireland and France – including the French Derby with Constitution River.
Not to forget Christmas Day coming early and giving O’Brien a record extending twelfth Epsom Derby win in early June.
With more than three months of elite Flat racing still ahead, the bookmakers clearly believe another assault on one of racing’s greatest records is firmly on the cards.
If Ballydoyle’s exceptional team of three-year-olds, older horses and exciting juveniles continue their current strike-rate, O’Brien could become the first trainer in history to record 29 or more Group One victories in a single calendar year.
With the bookmakers and sportsbooks making Aidan O’Brien 11/4 to fire in 29 (or more) Group One wins.
Paddy Power’s Ryan McCue said: “It’s a market that we priced around this time last year, too.
“After the Eclipse weekend last season he was on 11 Group 1 winners, but the fact he’s already on that now with both the Eclipse and German Derby highlighting this weekend, I’m sure punters out there may think the 11-4 is a little big considering the season he’s had to date.”
Note: Any odds shown on this page are subject to change
Coral Eclipse and German Derby Provide O’Brien’s Next Group One Opportunities
Aidan O’Brien has an immediate chance to add to his Group One tally this weekend, with runners set to contest both the Coral Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday (4 July) and the German Derby at Hamburg on Sunday (5 July).
The Ballydoyle trainer has left Constitution River, Hawk Mountain, Causeway and Flushing Meadows among his Coral Eclipse entries, although O’Brien has indicated a final decision on which horses line up at Sandown will be made later in the week.
French Derby winner Constitution River is expected to head the market should he take his chance, while Hawk Mountain also remains a live contender.
Aidan O’Brien has won the Coral-Eclipse a record nine times and is the winning-most trainer in the history of the Sandown race.
Interestingly, Hawk Mountain and Causeway also feature among the leading contenders for Sunday’s German Derby, giving O’Brien the option of chasing a first victory in the Hamburg Classic.
Having already landed the French Derby, Epsom Derby and Irish Derby in 2026, success in Germany would complete a remarkable clean sweep of Europe’s major Derby races this season.
With so many prestigious Group Ones still to come throughout July, August and the autumn, every top-level victory will edge O’Brien closer to the magical total of 29, the figure he needs to surpass his own world record of 28 Group One wins in a single calendar year.
