O'Brien doubles up on Banners

I'm from a little village in Wexford called Duncormick. My dad didn't ride horses, but he had a keen interest in pedigrees and watches a lot of racing. I probably started riding horses through my brother Sean who started before me. I saw Sean riding horses and enjoying it, and then he went on riding racehorses. I started riding and I broke into racehorses then with a local trainer down the road called John Walsh. Sean went away down to another trainer Michael Murphy. I was at my local riding lesson school and John Walsh came over to me and asked me if I wanted to come down on a Saturday. I went down and I loved it, so I went back and I went racing most Sundays when I was 11 or 12. The first day I went in there I was probably about 10 and I rode a horse that day. Her name was Mandy Carroll and she actually won a couple of point-to-points and a hunters chase on the track at Cork as well.

Aston Martini has the chance to continue Nicky Henderson’s fine run of form and take Listed glory when she lines up in the Try Unibet’s New Smartview Racecards Mares’ Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday.

Cold temperatures and the possibility of snow are major worries ahead of this weekend’s racing action with the Grade 1 card at Naas on Sunday already subject to an inspection.