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Welsh Grand National-winning jockey O'Brien dies aged 39

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Jockey Tom O'Brien, who rode over 1,000 winners including two Cheltenham Festival victories and two Welsh Grand Nationals, has died at age 39 following a cancer diagnosis.

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Why It Matters

Tom O'Brien was a career jockey who rode over 1,000 winners and was a long-term associate of trainer Philip Hobbs. He retired from professional racing in 2023.

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Jockey Tom O'Brien has died at the age of 39 after being diagnosed with cancer.

Irishman O'Brien rode more than 1,000 winners in Britain and Ireland, including two at the Cheltenham Festival and the Welsh Grand National twice.

The nephew of trainer Aidan O'Brien, he was a mainstay of the Minehead operation run by Philip Hobbs, joining as a teenager and remaining until his retirement in 2023.

Riding the Hobbs-trained Thyme Hill, O'Brien won the Liverpool Hurdle in 2021 and the Kauto Star Novices' Chase in 2022.

"It's very sad, particularly for his wife Hayley and two young children," said Hobbs, who now shares Minehead with Johnson White.

"He came to our yard from Ireland having not ridden in a race, but it soon became obvious he was pretty talented.

"He was always very reliable and a very good bloke. There's lots of good memories and there were lots of winners.

"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."