QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame | Horse Racing Free Tips

The late Vincent O'Brien, a master trainer on the Flat and over jumps, is the first of his profession to be inducted to the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame. His name was announced along with three equine stars of the 1970s, Mill Reef, Nijinsky and Brigadier Gerard (GB).

Marking the 10th anniversary of QIPCO's sponsorship of the British Champions Series, the Hall of Fame was launched in May with the inaugural inductees Lester Piggott and Frankel (GB).

During an illustrious career, O'Brien notched 141 Group 1 wins, with 67 of those coming in the UK, including six Derby winners. Prior to that his extraordinary success in the National Hunt field included training three consecutive winners of the Grand National. Moreover, he played a hugely significant role in the development of Coolmore Stud in partnership with his son-in-law John Magnier and Robert Sangster. O'Brien's particular liking of the stock of Northern Dancer led to some of Ballydoyle's and Coolmore's leading lights, including his fellow inductee and Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, and the Sangster-bred supersire Sadler's Wells.

“No racing decade ever had a start like the 1970s. Nijinsky, Mill Reef and Brigadier Gerard–three horses of the century only a year apart. No Derby winner more majestic than Nijinsky, no Arc winner more of a mould-breaker than Mill Reef, no miler more complete than Brigadier Gerard,” said Hall of Fame panellist and broadcaster Brough Scott.

“Irish genius Vincent O'Brien added to the magic of that era, setting a standard most could only dream of matching. He changed the racing and training landscape, and his legacy lives on at Ballydoyle and Coolmore–which remain two of the world's greatest racing operations to this day.

“They individually and collectively deserve these places within the Hall of Fame and the panel and I offer our heartfelt congratulations to their connections.”

Vincent O'Brien's son Charles said, “The QIPCO British Champion Series Hall of Fame is a wonderful initiative and, on behalf of the O'Brien family, we are absolutely delighted that Vincent O'Brien is the first trainer to be inducted. His achievements, both in the National Hunt and Flat spheres, are unparalleled and highly unlikely to ever be matched. Additionally, his creation of Ballydoyle as a training centre and his involvement in the early days of Coolmore Stud will ensure that his legacy will live on. We would like to thank QIPCO and the judging panel for helping to ensure that this is the case.”

Nijinsky, whose name is intertwined with both O'Brien and Lester Piggott, claimed the Triple Crown in 1970, a feat that has not been repeated in the intervening years. From a hugely successful stallion career, he remains the only sire to have had a winner of the Derby and the Kentucky Derby in the same year, in Shahrastani and Ferdinand.

Brigadier Gerard, bred in Britain by his owners John and Jean Hislop, was ridden by Joe Mercer to win 17 of his 18 races, including the 2000 Guineas, two Queen Elizabeth II S., and two Champion S.

Mill Reef, trained by Ian Balding, was runner-up to Brigadier Gerard in the 2000 Guineas of 1971 but was never beaten again in subsequent starts, including in the Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Fifty years on from Mill Reef's magnificent 3-year-old season, his trainer's son Andrew Balding is currently leading the trainers' championship in Britain.

Connections of the four inductees will receive a specially commissioned medal which will be displayed at Doncaster on Cazoo St Leger day (Saturday) as part of a QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame exhibition. The exhibition can be found within the racecourse's grandstand in the Grandstand Enclosure.

A number of additional inductions will be announced in the build-up to QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday, Oct. 16. These include one horse chosen by the public, who can vote here until Sept. 24.

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Legendary jockey Lester Piggott and Juddmonte's undefeated champion Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) are the inaugural members of the QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame.

Born on Nov. 5, 1935, the 11-time Champion Jockey (1960, 1964-1971, and 1982) began riding at age 10, and booted home his final winner at age 60. Among the champions that Piggott rode was British Triple Crown hero Nijinsky (Northern Dancer) for trainer Vincent O'Brien. Nicknamed the Long Fellow, Piggott is 5′ 7 ½”, and he rode 4,493 winners including 30 British Classics and 116 wins at Royal Ascot during his lengthy career in the saddle. His first winner came at age 12 with The Chase at Haydock Park in 1948.

Of the 30 Classics he won, there were nine victories in the G1 Derby: Never Say Die (1954), Crepello (1957), St Paddy (1960), Sir Ivor (1968), Nijinsky (1970), Roberto (1972), Empery (1976), The Minstrel (1977) and Teenoso (1983). Piggott also claimed the Irish equivalent five times and Derbys in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Singapore and Slovakia. Eight G1 St Legers went his way, as well as six G1 Oaks, a quintet of G1 2000 Guineas and a brace of G1 1000 Guineas. France's greatest race, the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, was claimed by Piggott three times, two of those titles with Alleged (Hoist the Flag) in 1977-78.

Piggott retired from the saddle in 1985, but returned several years later for a brief comeback before retiring for good. Click here to view a QIPCO British Champions Series Hall of Fame video on the great 85-year-old reinsman.

The highest-rated Thoroughbred in history, Frankel was foaled on Feb. 11, 2008. Named for the late trainer Bobby Frankel, the Juddmonte hombred debuted at Newmarket on Aug. 13, 2010 and promptly earned 'TDN Rising Stardom' for his half-length win over subsequent Group 1 winner Nathaniel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). The Sir Henry Cecil trainee added a win at Doncaster by 13 lengths that September, as well as the G2 Juddmote Royal Lodge S. later that month and the G1 Dubi Dewhurst S. to seal his champion juvenile honours in October.

After a dominant victory in the April 2011 G3 Totesport.com Greenham S., the late Prince Khalid Abdullah's bay colt exploded away to win the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas by six lengths later that month. He rattled off additional wins in the G1 St James's Palace S, G1 QIPCO Sussex S., and G1 QIPCO Queen Elizabeth II S. that year and was once again named a champion.

Sportingly kept in training at four, Frankel picked up right where he had left off, with a score in Newbury's G1 JLT Lockings S. in May, before another Royal Ascot victory, this time in the G1 Queen Anne S. in June. Another triumph in the Sussex S. in early August of 2012 followed, and he ventured beyond a mile for the first time with a seven-length win in the 10-furlong Juddmonte International S. Frankel's swansong came in the G1 QIPCO Champion S. that October and he once again earned a divisional championship.

Retired to Banstead Manor Stud with a perfect 14-14-0-0 mark and $4,789,144 in earnings, Frankel was named the highest-rated horse on the Longines World Thoroughbred rankings at 140. Ten of his wins were at the highest level and he was the first horse in 60 years to be named a champion at two, three and four.

“I cannot believe in the history of racing that there has ever been a better racehorse,” said the late Sir Henry Cecil, Frankel's trainer, after Frankel had signed off his flawless 14-race career with victory in the QIPCO Champion S. at Ascot in 2012. Click here for a video on the Juddmonte wunderkind and successful sire, who already has 63 black-type winners to his credit.

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