Family
Vincent O'Brien married Jacqueline Wittenoom, from Perth, Australia, in 1951 and had five children, daughters Elizabeth (widow of Kevin McClory), Susan (wife of John Magnier) and Jane (wife of Philip Myerscough); and sons Charles and David who followed in their father's footsteps as trainers, as did Vincent's grandson David Myerscough. Grandsons J P Magnier and M V Magnier have ridden with success as amateur jockeys. Charles was married to Anne Heffernan and had two children (Michael Vincent O'Brien Jr. and Katherine Margaret O'Brien). The marriage was dissolved and he is now married to Tammy Twomey. They have a daughter (Emily Jillian O'Brien). Altogether Vincent and Jaqueline had 5 children and 19 grandchildren.
O'Brien's older son, David won the Epsom Derby in 1984 with Secreto, beating his father's horse, El Gran Senor, by a short head. David, who also won the Irish and French Derbies in 1982 with Assert, is the youngest ever trainer to win an Epsom Derby, an Irish Derby, or a French Derby. However, in a decision that shocked the racing world, David suddenly retired from horse racing in 1988 following the birth of his third son, Charles.
O'Brien and his wife latterly spent half of each year in her home town of Perth, Australia and the remainder of the year in Ireland. He died at his Irish home in Straffan, County Kildare on 1 June 2009, aged 92.
Read more about this topic: Vincent O'Brien
Famous quotes containing the word family:
“If we can find a principle to guide us in the handling of the child between nine and eighteen months, we can see that we need to allow enough opportunity for handling and investigation of objects to further intellectual development and just enough restriction required for family harmony and for the safety of the child.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“We do not raise our children alone.... Our children are also raised by every peer, institution, and family with which they come in contact. Yet parents today expect to be blamed for whatever results occur with their children, and they expect to do their parenting alone.”
—Richard Louv (20th century)
“A real hangover is nothing to try out family remedies on. The only cure for a real hangover is death.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)