Another loss for the horse racing world: Tom O’Brien has died at age 39

Another loss in the world of horse racing: just a few hours after the passing of Izzy Neale, jockey Tom O’Brien died at the age of 39, following a courageous battle with illness. The Irish champion is survived by his partner Hayley and two young sons, Archie and Toby.

Matt Chapman, a journalist for The Sun and a close friend of O’Brien’s, remembered him this way: “He was a very quiet guy, one of the most humble people I’ve ever known. Whenever I saw him in the saddle, I felt he had untapped talent, and I did everything I could to sing his praises to the four winds.”

“He was thrilled when he landed the job with Philip Hobbs after Richard Johnson retired. And he deserved it. I remember feeling very lucky when I was invited to the party he’d organized in the West Country for his wedding to his wonderful wife Hayley. Everyone there said the same thing: Tom is a wonderful person. Of course, I’d known for some time that he wasn’t well.”

“After seeing Tom at Keeneland for the Breeders’ Cup just over a week ago, all of this is truly hard to comprehend. If I feel this bad, I can’t even imagine how his wife and children must be feeling right now. I just hope they all know that the racing family is always here for them,” Chapman concluded.