IT was also a fine season for brothers Joseph and Donnacha O’Brien with the former making it an incredible two Melbourne Cup wins within four years when Twilight Payment triumphed in Flemington last month.

When Rekindling struck for Joseph O’Brien in 2017, he did so at the expense of a Ballydoyle inmate, and last month it was son beating father once again as Twilight Payment bested the Irish Derby second Tiger Moth. For Joseph O’Brien to have won this race twice in just a few years is a staggering feat and the magnitude of this achievement is hard to overstate.

Closer to home, Joseph O’Brien also made his mark in an English classic for the first time as the patiently campaigned Galileo Chrome won the St Leger at Doncaster on just the fifth outing of his career.

This was a somewhat bittersweet moment for the stable as former champion apprentice Shane Crosse missed the ride at the 11th hour following a positive Covid-19 test.

Crosse wins

However, a deserved change of luck came Crosse’s way in Newmarket the following month when he partnered Pretty Gorgeous to a Fillies’ Mile victory.

This talented daughter of Lawman continued a trend of recent years which has seen many subsequently top-class performers begin their careers away from the metropolitan circuit: she was handed her debut in a median auction maiden at Bellewstown in July, a race she won by five lengths.

The exciting Thunder Moon, the highest-profile graduate to date from the relatively recently introduced barrier trials, gave O’Brien a first National Stakes when the Declan McDonogh-ridden colt did especially well to overcome a less than smooth passage.

Meanwhile, Donnacha O’Brien made quite a splash in his first season training; it didn’t take long for him to make his mark in the big time as Fancy Blue became the first Irish-trained filly in 50 years to win the Prix de Diane.

For good measure that filly went on to win the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, and there was further Group 1 success for the younger of the O’Brien brothers when Shale outpointed her old rival Pretty Gorgeous to win the Moyglare Stud Stakes.

It was also a momentous 2020 for O’Brien’s stable jockey Gavin Ryan who ended the season as champion apprentice with an impressive 51-winner haul. In all, six apprentices rode 20 winners or more over the course of the season which is testament to the young talent coming through in this country.