Crown Dream won the third race at the meet.

O’Brien said the the win came as a bit of a shock.

"The race went good but once he galloped at the start I thought he was out of play,” he said.

“But he came over the top of them at the end.

"We ended up back in last at one point.

“He had a quiet trip along the fence then popped out at the top of the straight and stormed home.”

Crown Dream won its heat in Ballarat to qualify for the race.

O’Brien said it gave him confidence going into the race.

“We entered the race knowing we won the heat,” he said.

“I thought he was a good chance before the race.

“He was just too good for them in the end.”

There is not much time to enjoy it, however, as O’Brien has a horse racing on Tuesday.

“We have Pickpocket racing at Bendigo,” he said.

“And Crown Dream will race in another fortnight.”

O’Brien trains the horses at his parents’ property in Armstrong.

The 24-year-old has been driving horses at harness racing meets since he was 16.

He has only recently started training horses 18 months ago.

The win makes it two from two in the past month for the duo of O’Brien and Crown Dream.

O’Brien has recovered from a shoulder reconstruction, which he had five months ago, thanks to an old football injury.

The repair and rehabilitation has allowed him to get back into the driver’s seat after a break.

He said now he could be more hands on with his horses.

“Now that I am getting better after my shoulder reconstruction, I will ride all my horses now,” he said.

The driver is a full-time plumber and trains the horses outside of business hours.

O’Brien said the win was a team effort.

“It says my name on the fields but it is four of us who make up the team,” he said.

“Mum, Dad, my girlfriend Kristy and I all work full-time and just do work with the horses before and after work.

“It is a real team effort to prepare them all.”

The team only has a handful of horses in the stables.

O’Brien said the harness racing training is a side project for the minute.

“We only have four or five horses,” he said.

“It is more just a hobby rather than doing anything really serious.”