Aidan O’Brien further cemented his place as Royal Ascot’s most successful trainer on Thursday, 18 June 2026, when Scandinavia battled his way to victory in the Ascot Gold Cup under Ryan Moore, bringing up a remarkable century of winners at the Royal Meeting.
The landmark success was another extraordinary milestone in a career that has already rewritten the record books.
You can see ALL 100 of Aidan O’Brien’s Royal Ascot winners listed below.
Century Up For Aidan O’Brien As Scandinavia Delivers Historic 100th Royal Ascot Winner
The Ballydoyle maestro arrived at Royal Ascot 2026 on 96 winners and moved closer to the landmark on the opening day of the meeting, thanks to victories from Great Barrier Reef in the Coventry Stakes and Mission Central in the King Charles III Stakes.
He then edged to within one of the magic century when Victorious landed Wednesday’s Queen Mary Stakes, taking his Royal Ascot tally to 99 heading into Ladies’ Day on Thursday.
With no winners in the opening races on June 18, the stage was perfectly set for Scandinavia to make history in the meeting’s most prestigious staying contest.
The St Leger winner duly delivered, digging deep in the closing stages to deny 2025 Gold Cup hero Trawlerman by a head – with the race live on ITV Racing.
Under a typically strong and perfectly judged ride from Ryan Moore, Scandinavia secured O’Brien’s 100th Royal Ascot winner in unforgettable fashion.
WATCH: Scandinavia Winning The 2026 Ascot Gold Cup – Giving Aidan O’Brien His 100th Royal Ascot Winner
The victory also gave O’Brien a record-extending 10th Ascot Gold Cup, further underlining his dominance of one of Royal Ascot’s most prestigious races.
The now-retired Sir Michael Stoute remains his nearest challenger on the all-time Royal Ascot trainers’ list with 82 winners.
Aidan O’Brien’s First Royal Ascot Winner Came In 1997
The achievement becomes even more remarkable when you consider where it all began.
O’Brien’s first Royal Ascot winner came back in 1997 when Harbour Master landed the Coventry Stakes, handing the then up-and-coming Irish trainer his breakthrough success at the Royal Meeting.
Few could have imagined at the time that it would be the start of a relationship with Royal Ascot that would span almost three decades and produce 100 winners.
The Coventry Stakes has since become O’Brien’s most successful Royal Ascot race, producing 12 winners in total. Fittingly, he added another in 2026 when Great Barrier Reef struck in the famous juvenile contest.
The Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Winners Kept Coming
Champions such as Giant’s Causeway, Rock Of Gibraltar, Yeats, Duke Of Marmalade, Mastercraftsman, Minding, Churchill, Caravaggio, Paddington and Auguste Rodin all played their part in building O’Brien’s remarkable Royal Ascot legacy.
Few trainers in the history of the sport have enjoyed such sustained success across so many different divisions, from precocious two-year-olds to Classic winners and elite stayers.
Among the most memorable of all was the legendary Yeats, who captured four consecutive Ascot Gold Cups between 2006 and 2009. More recently, Kyprios emerged as another staying superstar for Ballydoyle, winning multiple Gold Cups of his own.
O’Brien’s grip on Royal Ascot’s premier staying race has been nothing short of extraordinary, and Scandinavia’s success only strengthened that legacy.
Ryan Moore, O’Brien’s long-time partner in the saddle, was once again at the centre of the story.
The pair have formed one of racing’s most successful trainer-jockey combinations, collecting countless Group 1 prizes around the world and many of the landmark victories that have shaped O’Brien’s Royal Ascot record.
Moore’s coolness under pressure and perfectly timed ride aboard Scandinavia ensured the historic 100th winner arrived on one of the biggest stages of all.
Reaching 100 Royal Ascot Winners A Feat Unlikely To Be Matched
Royal Ascot has always been regarded as one of the toughest and most prestigious stages in world racing, a place where only the very best horses, trainers and jockeys thrive.
Yet O’Brien has turned excellence at the meeting into an annual expectation.
From Harbour Master’s breakthrough success in 1997 to Scandinavia’s heroic Gold Cup triumph in 2026, the journey to 100 winners has featured some of the finest thoroughbreds of the modern era and further cemented Aidan O’Brien’s status as one of horse racing’s all-time greats.
Aidan O’Brien’s 2026 Royal Ascot Winners Leading Up To His 100th
- Great Barrier Reef (Coventry Stakes, Tuesday)
- Mission Central (King Charles III Stakes, Tuesday)
- Victorious (Queen Mary Stakes, Wednesday)
- Scandinavia (Gold Cup, Thursday)
ALL Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Winners Listed (1997 to 2026): 100 Winners
1997 Royal Ascot Winners
HARBOUR MASTER – COVENTRY STAKES – G3
1999 Royal Ascot Winners
FASLIYEV – COVENTRY STAKES – G3
BACH – CHESHAM STAKES – LISTED
2000 Royal Ascot Winners
GIANT’S CAUSEWAY – ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES – G1
2001 Royal Ascot Winners
BLACK MINNALOUSHE – ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES – G1
LANDSEER – COVENTRY STAKES – G3
MOZART – JERSEY STAKES – G3
JOHANNESBURG – NORFOLK STAKES – G3
2002 Royal Ascot Winners
ROCK OF GIBRALTAR – ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES – G1
SOPHISTICAT – CORONATION STAKES – G1
STATUE OF LIBERTY – COVENTRY STAKES – G3
2004 Royal Ascot Winners
FIVE DYNASTIES – KING EDWARD VII STAKES – G2
MOSCOW BALLET – HAMPTON COURT STAKES – LISTED
2005 Royal Ascot Winners
INDIGO CAT – HAMPTON COURT STAKES – LISTED
2006 Royal Ascot Winners
AD VALOREM – QUEEN ANNE STAKES – G1
YEATS – GOLD CUP – G1
2007 Royal Ascot Winners
EXCELLENT ART – ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES – G1
YEATS – GOLD CUP – G1
HENRYTHENAVIGATOR – COVENTRY STAKES – G2
MAHLER – QUEEN VASE – G3
2008 Royal Ascot Winners
HARADASUN – QUEEN ANNE STAKES – G1
HENRYTHENAVIGATOR – ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES – G1
DUKE OF MARMALADE – PRINCE OF WALES STAKES – G1
YEATS – GOLD CUP – G1
MACARTHUR – HARDWICKE STAKES – G2
HONOLULU – QUEEN ALEXANDRA STAKES – CONDITIONS RACE
2009 Royal Ascot Winners
MASTERCRAFTSMAN – ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES – G1
YEATS – GOLD CUP – G1
2010 Aidan O’Brien Royal Ascot Winners
LILLIE LANGTRY – CORONATION STAKES – G1
STARSPANGLEDBANNER – JUBILEE STAKES – G1
MIKHAIL GLINKA – QUEEN’S VASE – G3
2011 Royal Ascot Winners
FAME AND GLORY – GOLD CUP – G1
POWER – COVENTRY STAKES – G2
AWAIT THE DAWN – HARDWICKE STAKES – G2
MAYBE – CHESHAM STAKES – LISTED
2012 Royal Ascot Winners
SO YOU THINK – PRINCE OF WALES STAKES – G1
ISHVAN – JERSEY STAKES – G3
2013 Royal Ascot Winners
DECLARATION OF WAR – QUEEN ANNE STAKES – G1
WAR COMMAND – COVENTRY STAKES – G2
GALE FORCE TEN – JERSEY STAKES – G3
LEADING LIGHT – QUEEN’S VASE – G3
2014 Royal Ascot Winners
LEADING LIGHT – GOLD CUP – G1
BRACELET – RIBBLESDALE STAKES – G2
2015 Royal Ascot Winners
GLENEAGLES – ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES – G1
WATERLOO BRIDGE – NORFOLK STAKES – G2
WASHINGTON DC – WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES – LISTED
ALOFT – QUEEN’S VASE – LISTED
WAR ENVOY – BRITANNIA STAKES – HANDICAP
2016 Royal Ascot Winners
CARAVAGGIO – COVENTRY STAKES – G2
EVEN SONG – RIBBLESDALE STAKES – G2
ORDER OF ST GEORGE – GOLD CUP – G1
BRAVE ANNA – ALBANY STAKES – G3
SWORDFIGHTER – QUEEN’S VASE – LISTED
CHURCHILL – CHESHAM STAKES – LISTED
SIR ISAAC NEWTON – WOLFERTON – HANDICAP
2017 Royal Ascot Winners
HIGHLAND REEL – PRINCE OF WALES – G1
SIOUX NATION – NORFOLK STAKES – G2
CARAVAGGIO – COMMONWEALTH STAKES – G1
WINTER – CORONATION STAKES – G1
SEPTEMBER – CHESHAM STAKES – LISTED
IDAHO – HARDWICKE STAKES – G2
2018 Royal Ascot Winners
KEW GARDENS – QUEENS VASE – G2
HUNTING HORN – HAMPTON COURT STAKES – G3
MAGIC WAND – RIBBLESDALE STAKES – G2
MERCHANT NAVY – JUBILEE STAKES – G1
2019 Royal Ascot Winners
ARIZONA – COVENTRY STAKES – G2
CIRCUS MAXIMUS – ST JAMES PALACE STAKES – G1
SOUTHERN HILLS – WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES – LISTED
SOUTH PACIFIC – KING GEORGE V STAKES – HANDICAP
JAPAN – KING EDWARD VII STAKES – G2
2020 Royal Ascot Winners
CIRCUS MAXIMUS – QUEEN ANNE STAKES – G1
RUSSIAN EMPEROR – HAMPTON COURT STAKES – G3
BATTLEGROUND – CHESHAM STAKES – LISTED
SANTIAGO – QUEENS VASE – G2
2021 Royal Ascot Winners
LOVE – PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES – G1
POINT LONSDALE – CHESHAM STAKES – LISTED
2022 Royal Ascot Winners
LITTLE BIG BEAR – WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES – LISTED
KYPRIOS – ASCOT GOLD CUP – G1
MEDITATE – ALBANY STAKES – G3
CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD – KING EDWARD VII STAKES – G2
BROOME – HARDWICKE STAKES – G2
2023 Royal Ascot Winners
RIVER TIBER – COVENTRY STAKES – G2
PADDINGTON – ST JAMES’S PALACE STAKES – G1
WARM HEART – RIBBLESDALE STAKES – G2
AGE OF KINGS – JERSEY STAKES – G3
2024 Royal Ascot Winners
ILLINOIS – QUEENS VASE – G2
AUGUSTE RODIN – PRINCE OF WALES’S STAKES – G1
PORT FAIRY – RIBBLESDALE STAKES – G2
KYPRIOS – GOLD CUP – G1
FAIRY GODMOTHER – ALBANY STAKES – G3
BEDTIME STORY – CHESHAM STAKES – LISTED
2025 Royal Ascot Winners
GSTAAD – COVENTRY STAKES – G2
TRUE LOVE – QUEEN MARY STAKES – G2
CHARLES DARWIN – NORFOLK STAKES – G2
GARDEN OF EDEN – RIBBLESDALE STAKES – G2
TRINITY COLLEGE – HAMPTON COURT – G3
2026 Royal Ascot Winners
GREAT BARRIER REEF – COVENTRY STAKES – G2
MISSION CENTRAL – KING CHARLES III STAKES – G1
VICTORIOUS – QUEEN MARY STAKES – G2
SCANDINAVIA – GOLD CUP – G1
