Retired jockey Joseph O’Brien is expected to have his first runners as a trainer as early as next week.
The dual Irish champion has a meeting on Friday with the licence committee of the Irish Turf Club which is expected to rubber stamp his application.
Should that go through without a hitch, the 23-year-old son of multiple champion trainer Aidan O’Brien would be allowed to have horses run in his name on Monday with race meetings scheduled for Gowran Park and Listowel.
“He will come up to licensing committee on Friday. They will interview him and I imagine they will sanction his licence,” Turf Club press officer Cliff Noone said.
“They have already inspected his premises and they were found to be in perfect shape. The final step is him getting his licence and I would think that would be Friday afternoon.
“Obviously he can’t declare horses on Friday, but he would have it so that he could declare horses on Sunday for Monday.”
Tall for a flat jockey, O’Brien battled weight issues throughout his last couple of seasons and announced his retirement from flat racing late last year.
O’Brien’s Group One wins spanned six countries and included the Derby, St Leger, 2000 Guineas, Irish Derby, three consecutive Irish 2000 Guineas, a Breeders’ Cup Turf, a Grand Prix de Paris and a Dubai Sheema Classic.
