Pletcher - O'Brien - Fabre

[Hwjb]

Interesting question.

With the possible exception of Henry Cecil and Sir Michael Stoute, Andre Fabre has achieved more than any other trainer in Europe today. For the time being at least, he has proved himself more than O'Brien in the US, his record in the BC races by far the best of any European trainer. He is about to be crowned champion trainer in France for the 20th time, that says it all. All that is missing from his CV is a win in the Derby.

Its easy to forget that Aidan O'Brien is still only 37. Off the top of my head only Michael Dickinson and the greatest trainer of racehorses ever to live, Vincent O'Brien have achieved anything like similar success at such an early age. Like Fabre, O'Brien initially showcased his remarkable talents over jumps, unbelievably winning the championship in his first season with a license. He trained the almighty Istabraq to 3 Champion Hurdles, and it is a real shame that he doesn't train any jumpers anymore. I guess what you feel about O'Brien depends on how you view his Coolmore backing. Clearly its a huge advantage, but I think it is noteworthy that O'Brien consistently produces the goods with his expensive horses, whereas Godolphin, with a similar budget, go through many more peaks and troughs. I would imagine that, as a horseman, pure and simple, he is pretty much peerless.

I leave a summation of Pletcher to those who know far more about his feats than I.

On balance if asked to chose between Pletcher, O'Brien or Fabre, I'd take none of the above and send my horse to Henry Cecil. He remains the greatest for me, and always will do.