Aidan O’Brien records twelfth Epsom Derby win

Trainer Aidan O’Brien saddled his record extending twelfth Epsom Derby winner and, in the process, the winner Christmas Day also gave O’Brien his fiftieth win in a British Classic … cementing a truly remarkable set of achievements.

But that is only part of the O’Brien story.

This is his one hundred and twentieth victory in a European Classic, comprising fifty-seven in Ireland, fifty in Britain and thirteen in France … an honour roll which includes thirty-two Derbys, twelve in the Epsom Derby, seventeen at the Curragh and three at Chantilly.

And you can add in that this was Aidan O’Brien’s fourth successive win in the Derby … another record … a set of results which underlines the stable’s complete dominance of the event in recent years.

That is simply spectacular statistics produced by a master trainer.

Not that things always play out to script though … even if O’Brien saddles the winner in what is now Britain’s joint richest race with one million pounds going to the winning connections.

Seven of O’Brien’s Derby winners were not his most fancied runner in the market with Christmas Day being the latest to fill that profile.

With the 2026 edition contested in pouring rain, Christmas Day was only on the fourth line of betting at 7-1, soundly behind the long-time race favourite Benvenuto Cellini, another Aidan O’Brien trained runner with Ryan Moore on board, who entered the starting gates as a 3-1 favourite in spite of the testing conditions.

Benvenuto Cellini had a mishap in the gates, was compromised on leaving the barrier, participated in the race without ever being a contender for the win … before being somewhat controversially declared a non-runner sometime after the race had been completed.

With the weather turning the race into a real slog … the time was the slowest posted since 1983 … it all went the way of Christmas Day with Ronan Whelan in the saddle with the son of Camelot (the 2012 Derby winner), who was striding out freely, seemingly untroubled by the testing ground, taking up the running early with the result never in serious doubt from that moment as Christmas Day carried winning momentum all the way to the line … relishing the task … to score by a comfortable 2.75 length margin.

“It’s very surreal. It just all went too easy and felt so smooth. I knew when the rain came my lad would love it, and the stars aligned for me, really,” said Whelan.

Maltese Cross, ridden by Tom Marquand, finished second, while James J Braddock with jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle came home in third spot.