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Aidan O'Brien is seeking to end a five-year winless streak at Ascot Champions Day as he is crowned Britain's Champion Trainer for the first time in seven years, writes James Toney.

O'Brien has been Ireland's Champion Trainer every year since 1999 but this is the seventh time he's done the double, though the last occasion was back in 2017.

Ahead of Qipco British Champions Day, O'Brien - the third Irish handler to win the prize after Paddy Prendergast and Vincent O'Brien - had banked over €9.5m of prize money from his 145 runs, which included 30 wins and 79 places.

His domination of the season's big-money races, including City of Troy's triumph at the Epsom Derby and six victories at Royal Ascot, secured him almost double the earnings of nearest rival Andrew Balding, despite his 152 wins across the campaign.

O'Brien's win means, for the first time, both British Champion Trainer titles are in the hands of Irish handlers, following Willie Mullins' first success in the jumps equivalent earlier this year.

However, perhaps it's good news O'Brien is so far clear of his rivals ahead of the finale to the season at Ascot, which features five sparkling Group One encounters.

He's not had a Champions Day winner since Magical won the Champion Stakes in 2019, 28 runners and counting without reward, with eight Ballydoyle entries in Saturday's racing looking to break that streak.

“It’s always an important part of our programme and that we haven’t had a winner there for a while just shows how competitive it is there,” said O'Brien.

“You have to have the right horse to win at Ascot in October, as the going can be very tough at this time of the year, but we’ve got one of our bigger teams going there this year.”

Recent Longchamp winner Kyprios - seeking a ninth Group One win - is favourite in the Long Distance Cup, a race he lost narrowly 12 months ago to John and Thady Gosden's Trawlerman. Other contenders include Yorkshire Oaks winner Content in the Fillies & Mares Stakes and Los Angeles, third in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, who is the pick of the raiders in the showpiece Champion Stakes.

Perhaps O'Brien has sacrificed success at Champions Day in recent years for other end of season targets, notably City of Troy's Breeders' Cup tilt and Auguste Rodin's bid for the Japan Cup.

But Ryan Moore is optimistic about finally chalking a win on the board.

"Kyprios is the best stayer in racing, he sets a clear standard for everyone else to come up to," he said.

"Last year we gave best to Trawlerman in this, but it was a truncated season coming back from his lay-off.  We'll be looking to achieve another unblemished season."

Kyprios returned from a serious bone infection, which many thought would end in retirement and his trainer feared would end his life, to win Royal Ascot's showpiece Gold Cup. O'Brien has never lost faith with a bid for a third Gold Cup in four years the ultimate ambition.

“Kyprios has come back from Longchamp well and we are very happy with him. He obviously hasn’t done much since then, but he seems to be in good form," added O'Brien.

“He’s obviously an unbelievable horse to do what he’s done every run this year, and last year too really, as he’d only just come back from injury. I don’t think we could even have dreamed he'd do as well as he has after his injury last year. What’s he’s done is just incredible.

“He had a couple of runs in his build up for the Gold Cup, and to go on from there to Goodwood, the Irish St Leger and then to France is just incredible. It’s unbelievable to have him around still to compete in races like this at this time of the year, and although this is back to a Group 2 we had it pencilled in for him after France if he came out of the race well.

“Hopefully he’ll be back again next year too. We’ll get him through the winter and then back for a couple of runs again before the Gold Cup again. He’s incredible.”