IT is changeover weekend in Irish racing, the first Grade 1 of the jumps season coinciding with the final day of the flat turf season. The focus here will necessarily switch to the winter game for the coming months but not before covering the biggest story in Irish flat racing: Joseph O’Brien taking his operation to another level in 2026.

O’Brien has the biggest flat yard in the country, so this will necessarily be a story of numbers. Per the useful statistic section on Irishracing.com, O’Brien has had 104 individual flat winners in Ireland this year from 228 individual runners. (Figures quoted in this article are correct through last weekend.)