Paul O'Brien

This season he has ridden 51 winners from 302 races — that's roughly 1 in every 6, or a 17% win rate — which is a solid return for any jockey, let alone someone still in the early stages of their career. His partnership with trainer Harry Derham has been the engine behind much of that success: 40 winners from 188 rides together, winning at a rate of about 1 in every 5. When a jockey and trainer click like that, it usually means they communicate well and the horses suit his style. That kind of consistent, trusted relationship is genuinely hard to build and worth a great deal.

The bigger moments are starting to arrive, too. O'Brien has won five of racing's top-level races in his career so far, at venues including Ascot, Huntingdon and Kempton Park — and three of those came in the space of just ten days in February 2026. Winning at that level once is notable. Winning three times at the highest level in a fortnight is the kind of run that gets people talking.

There are some interesting patterns worth noting. On fast, dry ground he has won 2 from just 4 races — a 50% conversion rate that suggests he's particularly effective when conditions favour a quick pace and a clean jump. At Haydock Park specifically, he has won 3 from 5 rides, which is the kind of record at a specific course that trainers notice when they're deciding who to book. And right now his form is even sharper than usual: 2 winners from his last 7 rides in the past fortnight, a 29% win rate compared to his seasonal average of 17%. That's a jockey in form, not just in work.

At 186 career winners and still only four years in, O'Brien is clearly on an upward curve. The question now is whether he can turn those Class 1 moments into something more consistent at the very top level — but the building blocks are undeniably there.