Ballydoyle is the Mecca of thoroughbred horse training. Under the mastership of Aidan O'Brien, who at the age of 40 has already been Champion Trainer four times in Britain and 15 years in a row in Ireland, Ballydoyle has been the cradle of legendary horses like Yeats, Galileo, High Chaparral, George Washington, Dylan Thomas, Rock of Gibraltar, and Duke of Marmalade. Now, for the first time, through the lens of Anne-Marie O'Brien—Aidan O'Brien's wife and herself a former Champion National Hunt Trainer—and the pen of acclaimed sportswriter David Walsh, we are being given a glimpse behind the scenes at Ballydoyle. Anne-Marie's photographs capture the majesty of the rolling Tipperary landscape where the Ballydoyle horses learn their paces, and also the details of a state-of-the-art training facility, from stable to paddock to spa to gallops. And they capture the faces of Ballydoyle—the stable lads and lasses, the riders, the vets, all at the very top of their game. David Walsh's conversations with the people of Ballydoyle reveal the passion, the commitment, and the humanity of this extraordinary operation.
