Jockey Tom O’Brien, Cheltenham festival winner, dies aged 39

Tom O’Brien, who rode more than 1,000 winners over jumps including five Grade Ones and two at the Cheltenham festival, has died at the age of 39 after being diagnosed with cancer.

O’Brien, who retired from race riding in April 2023, had a close association with Philip Hobbs’s stable near Minehead throughout his 20-year career in the saddle and enjoyed his most prestigious Grade One victories aboard Hobbs’s Thyme Hill in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Aintree in April 2021 and the Kauto Star Novice Chase at Kempton in December 2022.

O’Brien also rode two Grade One winners for Colin Tizzard, on Finian’s Oscar and Elixir De Nutz in the Tolworth Hurdle in 2017 and 2019 respectively, and two handicap winners at the Cheltenham festival: Third Wind in the Pertemps Final in 2022 and Silk Affair in the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle in 2009.

“He came to our yard from Ireland having not ridden in a race,” Hobbs said on Wednesday, “but it soon became obvious he was pretty talented and he was with us from the start of his career until the end.

“He was in the shadow of Richard Johnson for a long time being second jockey and then became first jockey after Richard retired, which went well. His biggest win was Thyme Hill in the Grade One at Aintree and he was always very reliable and a very good bloke.

“There’s lots of good memories and there were lots of winners and I’d kept in touch with Tom since his retirement as he only lived half an hour away. He was only in our yard about three weeks ago.

“It’s very sad, particularly for his wife, Hayley, and two young children.”

Johnson also paid tribute to O’Brien on Wednesday.

“Tom was an all-round great person and you won’t find anyone with a bad word to say about him,” he said. “Whether that was at the races, riding out or travelling in a car to the races, a party, he was just a great person to be around and a person we all enjoyed spending our time with.

“He left a positive mark on all of us. I spent a long time riding with him at Philip Hobbs’s and we never had a cross word, and I think that would apply to anyone you speak to as he was just an all-round good man.”

After retiring from race riding, O’Brien moved to a new role with the British Horseracing Authority’s stewarding team.

“Everyone at the BHA and across British and Irish racing is mourning the devastating loss of our friend and colleague Tom O’Brien,” Brant Dunshea, the BHA’s chief executive, said on Wednesday.

“Tom passed away surrounded by his loved ones following a long and courageous battle with cancer, which he faced with the steely determination and drive that typified the man so many of us knew.

“First and foremost, our thoughts are with those closest to Tom, especially his wife, Hayley, their two young sons and their entire family. We will do everything to support them during this unimaginably difficult period.

“Tom was held in the highest esteem and meant so much to so many people across our sport, who benefited from his kindness and loyal friendship. He touched countless lives on both sides of the Irish Sea, bringing joy to everyone who had the privilege of knowing him and watching what he did best, on and off the racecourse.

“He will be hugely missed and his loss is immensely difficult to process.”