Mick Kinane expects Joseph O'Brien to make a seamless transition from being a top jockey to a successful training career.
Kinane was one of the best-ever Flat jockeys, winning the champion jockey title 13 times in a 34-year career that ended in 2009.
He was stable jockey to O'Brien's father, Aidan, between 1999 and 2003 in which he rode such stars as Galileo, Giant's Causeway and Rock Of Gibraltar. In 2001 alone they teamed up to win 17 races at Group One or Grade One level.
O'Brien was also number one at Ballydoyle and Kinane believes the 22-year-old did "remarkably well" in a difficult job especially when at such a tender age.
"For one so young he achieved an awful lot as a jockey. He can be proud of what he achieved," said Kinane, whose record tally for winners in an Irish season O'Brien broke in 2013.
"It's all about success at Ballydoyle and they need stallions every year. He handled the pressure that goes with the job remarkably well.
"It's a very powerful stable but he had to get the job done.
"He should get the right support and he's training from a nice establishment. I'd expect him to be a success."
Meanwhile, O'Brien will not be specialising when he begins his training career, indicating that his string will be split 50-50 between Flat and National Hunt horses.
O'Brien, twice champion Flat jockey in Ireland, has quit the saddle to concentrate on his new role.
He has been training a large string of horses, including JCB Triumph Hurdle favourite Ivanovich Gorbatov, from a base at Piltown, Co Kilkenny with his father.
The younger O'Brien said he hopes to have his training licence by May as the Flat season will be beginning to kick into gear.
However, he appears to be keeping his sights low for the time being.
"I'll just take things as they come and do my best with every horse that comes in and go from there. I'll just do my best with all the horses and see what happens after that.
