Irish horse racing has lost its most famous personality following the death of Vincent O'Brien at his home in Straffan, Co Kildare at the age of 92.
The County Cork native trained six-horses to win the Epsom Derby, among them Nijinsky in 1970 and won three Aintree Grand Nationals and three Cheltenham Gold Cups with Cottage Rake.
He also won the Champion Hurdle three years in succession with Hatton's Grace.
During the 1970s, O'Brien along with owner Robert Sangster and his son-in-law, John Magnier, established what became known as the Coolmore syndicate.
O'Brien married Jacqueline Wittenoom from Australia in 1951 and had five children.
Two of his sons, David and Charles followed in his footsteps and became trainers.
His achievements in both racing codes earned him the number one spot in a 2003 Racing Post poll to discover the greatest racing figure of all time.
The current incumbent of Ballydoyle is Aidan O'Brien said: 'It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Dr Vincent O'Brien today.
'As for so many people in racing, he was my hero growing up. For Anne Marie (wife) and me to come to Ballydoyle, to the training facility he established, was an extraordinary privilege.
'Dr O'Brien was tireless in improving the yards and gallops and we enjoy the benefits of his half-century of hard work and dedication today.
'We would never have been able to achieve our successes without the facility and gallops he built.
'There is nothing that compares to it anywhere in the world.
'I feel the sense of history every morning when I walk into the yard that had horses such as Nijinsky, Sir Ivor to Sadler's Wells.
'His dedication to the sport of racing and to the highest standards knew no bounds.
'It is humbling to follow in his footsteps.'
Martin Cullen, TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, expressed his deepest sympathy on hearing of the death of the legendary handler.
Minister Cullen said; 'I was very saddened to hear of the death of Dr Vincent O'Brien who was a pioneer of Irish racing. Dr O'Brien was ahead of his time in both National Hunt and Flat Racing and for decades was the most internationally recognised name in Irish racing.
'His vision put Irish racing and breeding to the forefront. In addition to training some of the greatest horses in sporting history he established Ballydoyle, one of the world's leading training centres for horses and the world renowned Coolmore Stud.'
