John Oxx

Principal Jockeys: Mick Kinane, Fran Berry

JohnOxxNotable Wins:

  • Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Sea The Stars 2009)
  • Irish Champion Stakes (Sea The Stars 2009)
  • Juddmonte International Stakes (Sea The Stars 2009)
  • Coral Eclipse Stakes(Sea The Stars 2009)
  • English Derby (Sea The Stars 2009)
  • English 2000 Guineas (Sea The Stars 2009)
  • Irish St Leger (Kastoria 2006, Petite Ile 1989, Eurobird 1987)
  • King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes (Azamour 2005, Alamshar 2003)
  • Irish Champion Stakes (Azamour 2004, Timarida 1996)
  • Irish Derby (Alamshar (2003, Sinndar 2000)
  • Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Sinndar 2000)
  • Prix de l’Abbaye (Namid 2000)
  • Epsom Derby (Sinndar 2000)
  • National Stakes (Sinndar 1999, Manntari 1993)
  • Ascot Gold Cup (Enzeli 1999)
  • Moyglare Stud Stakes (Edabiya 1998, Flamenco Wave 1988)
  • Irish Oaks (Winona 1998, Ebadiyla 1997)
  • Yorkshire Oaks (Key Change 1997)
  • French St Leger (Ebadiyla 1996)
  • Breeders Cup Mile (Ridgewood Pearl 1995)
  • Prix Du Moulin (Ridgewood Pearl 1995)
  • Coronation Stakes (Ridgewood Pearl 1995)
  • Irish 1000 Guineas (Ridgewood Pearl 1995)

John Oxx started training in 1979 and has developed into one of Ireland’s most respected and successful trainers, gaining a reputation for his unrivalled patience with his horses and an admirable tendency not to over face his horses. He has enjoyed big-race successes all around the world, training his first Classic winner when Eurobird ran out a clear-cut winner of the 1987 Irish St Leger, while two years later he won the same race with Petite Ile in the hands of Australian jockey, Ron Quinton.

The decision of the Aga Khan to transfer his horses to Ireland in 1990 benefited John Oxx immensely, as he became the sole trainer for the hugely-successful breeder and together they have enjoyed tremendous success in Ireland and overseas. Their first big success together came with Manntari who won the National Stakes at the Curragh in 1993, with other notable wins for the partnership coming in the 1996 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown with Timarida and with Ebadiyla in the 1997 Irish Oaks.

While the majority of John Oxx’s big-race wins have been with Aga Khan-owned horses, in 1995 he was the man behind the magnificent Ridgewood Pearl, who was owned by Sean Coughlan. This filly started off that year with an impressive eight lengths victory in the Athasi Stakes at the Curragh before landing the Irish 1000 Guineas in brilliant style in the hands of Christy Roche. In June she took the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and two months later she won the Prix Du Moulin at Longchamp. A surprise defeat in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in late-September was only a momentary lapse in a brilliant year and to round it all off, she became a national heroine with a stunning victory in the Breeders Cup Mile in America in early-November. This memorable success meant that Ridgewood Pearl had won four Group 1 races in four different countries, a truly magnificent feat.

In 2000, Oxx trained the brilliant Sinndar for the Aga Khan to become the first horse to win the Epsom Derby, the Budweiser Irish Derby and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in the same year. While in 2003, the famous Aga Khan silks were carried to victory in the Budweiser Irish Derby by Alamshar, who then went on to record a memorable win in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot. Azamour flew the flag for the John Oxx-Aga Khan alliance in 2004 and 2005, winning the St James’s Palace Stakes, the Irish Champion Stakes, the Prince Of Wales Stakes and the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. In 2006, the game mare Kastoria kept the partnership in clover with a profitable season that culminated with a memorable success over Yeats in the Irish St Leger.

While John Oxx had to wait a few years to return to the Group 1 winner’s enclosure after that last-named win, he had a particularly strong crop of juveniles in 2008 and one of those horses to get off the mark at the highest level in 2009 was the exceptionally well-bred Sea The Stars. Sea The Stars gave Oxx his first win in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. The John Oxx-trained colt went on to carve his name into the annals of Turf history with six consecutive Group One triumphs, in the process becoming the only horse to complete the 2000 Guineas, Epsom derby and Arc treble. Brilliantly ridden by the veteran Mick Kinane, who has been at the helm for all nine racecourse appearances of Sea The Stars. Arguably the most exciting horse to race on the Flat in living memory, this three-year-old son of Cape Cross has truly dominated the Flat season and sealed his legacy amongst the all-time greats. The regally-bred colt has been imperious in completing a truly unique Group 1 six-timer this season, winning the Newmarket 2000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby, the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, the Juddmonte International Stakes at York, the Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, with him giving the distinct impression on each and every occasion that there was more left in his tank if required to be called upon.
To read more about Sea The Stars click here

Even if he was never to train another winner of any description, there is no doubt that John Oxx deserves to be recognised as one of the greatest trainers of thoroughbreds in the world today and he is undoubtedly a future Hall Of Famer in Irish racing.

Updated Oct 2009.