ASK anyone in the business to shortlist the most professional sales consignors, and it is even-money that they will include the name of Jacqueline Norris. Under her Jockey Hall banner she has sold some high- priced mares, foals and yearlings over many years, but these days she takes a more focused approach to that area of activity.

She is still consigning, and at Goffs this month she has a select group of foals and mares to offer. However, she is fortunate to be able to pick and choose what she does, and life is about more than just handling large drafts at the sales. It is about the quality of that life.

Her record of selling high-priced lots is second to none, given the numbers she has handled. Quality over quantity has ever been the hallmark of the Jockey Hall draft, and this did not happen by chance. She says: “I remember going to Newmarket and learned there that if things are not done to a high standard, then you are just another person standing outside the stable door.”

When it comes to choosing clients, she has heeded the wisdom of Sir Mark Prescott who once told Jacqueline, “Don’t work for people you wouldn’t sit down for a cup of tea or a glass of wine with”. Acting on this has been to her advantage, though she claims that clients chose her because she went the extra yard.

Great achievements

Among her greatest achievements in the sale ring have been the sale of Reve D’Iman, the dam of classic winner Bethrah, for 1,700,000gns on behalf of Tull Park, while Long View, a half-sister to Golan, was sold for Ballymacoll Stud some years ago for 1,100,000gns. For good measure she also sold Bethrah as a yearling.

This year has been a good one for Jacqueline, with two sale hits already notched up. At the Goffs Orby Sale she sold a son of Sea The Stars, through her good friend Edie Murray-Hayden’s Gormanstown Stud, for €550,000, and this colt is from a mare Jacqueline bought at Goffs just three years ago.

At the time of her acquisition Ownwan, a daughter of Kingmambo and from the family of High Chaparral, had colts on the ground by Exceed And Excel and Shamardal, and was carrying to Casamento, sire of the recent Group 1 winner Kings Will Dream. She had been a €600,000 yearling!

After foaling a filly, now a two-year-old named Olga Da Polga and retained by Jacqueline, she was covered by Sea The Stars, a foal share with Mrs Tsui. The resulting colt was brought to sell at Goffs last year, but he failed to find favour and was brought home.

Challenge

It was a different story less than a year later when Demi O’Byrne had to see off a sustained challenge from Sheikh Hamdan to acquire him for Aquis Farm. Now Jacqueline can look forward to offering his full-sister later this month, one of a pair of foals by the Gilltown Stud-based Sea The Stars in her upcoming draft.

Did Jacqueline expect him to make so much?

“No,” is the answer, before she adds: “That said, everyone loved him from day one at the sales. At some point I did think he might make €250,000, but I was naturally thrilled. People with a nice horse at Goffs got well paid.

“I am a big believer in choosing the right sale for the horse; we all love the big select sales, but sometimes that is not the most suitable for the horse, In a small business these are important decisions to be made, and the recent sale of Claire Underwood is another example of that working.”

Jacqueline bred and “had great fun racing” Claire Underwood with Richard Fahey. Named after a fictional character in House of Cards, this four-time winning daughter of Declaration Of War comes from the family of Sinndar. Eschewing a traditional route of going to the Tattersalls December Sale, Jacqueline sent her to the Autumn Horses In Training Sale where she was bought for an international client by BBA Ireland.

While she is now one of the best-known figures in the world of thoroughbred, Jacqueline could also act as a poster girl for someone with no industry connections but who wants to get involved in the world of bloodstock. From Delvin, Co Westmeath, this animal-mad young girl’s lifetime passion for equines was fuelled by her parents buying her a pony, though the family had no connection to that world.

Family

Marriage and children may have temporarily side-lined her career trajectory, but it did not dampen her interest and enthusiasm for the industry.

An early influence and inspiration was the time she spent at Ballysheehan Stud near Cashel, then owned by Philip and Jane Myerscough. Jacqueline explains: “Yearling prep was done to a very high standard, and all by hand. I also made lifelong friends there, including Clodagh Kavanagh and Orla Nicholson, and the standard was set by yearling managers including Liam Lynch and John Bleahan.

“I have learned so much by watching and working with good people.

“The methods used at Ballysheehan have stayed with me to this day. We do not have a horse walker in Jockey Hall, and do everything by hand. I truly believe that good people bring out the best in horses.

“I would also advise people to get involved with the ITBA and attend the various courses they run. Being involved in that organisation has been a huge help to me.”

With the support of her family, following their move to Kildare, Jacqueline identified foal prepping for the sales as an area to be involved with. She considers that she was always lucky with the people that she met, making friends with Brian Grassick and Robert Griffin who also became mentors. One senses already a pattern – always surrounding yourself with the best people in the business.

Life was certainly hectic then, juggling family life with a range of bloodstock activities that included boarding, prepping and also offering advice to key clients. Jacqueline is not a consignor who takes on a horse she knows nothing about, preferring to be part of a longer process. To that end she has worked with the likes of William Kennedy, Trevor Stewart, James Hanly, Duncan McGregor, Johnny Connaughton, Henrietta Bedford, Peter Reynolds and others, paying regular visits to talk about all aspects of the business.

Key figures in Jacqueline’s success are not confined to business friends. Her mother Noreen is “the most grounded person I know. She would always advocate being yourself, and as a result I believe I too am a realist.

“I have two wonderful children, Michael who works with Ashford in Kentucky, and Vickie who takes a huge interest in all we do. Pat’s girls, Amy in particular, have been a great help too.”

Key figure

This brings us to a key figure in this successful partnership, Pat Downes, though he tends to operate in the shadows of Jacqueline’s business due to his role as the Aga Khan’s manager in Ireland. “It was through Pat that I got excited about owning racehorses, and that has been another outlet for me in the business in recent years. I love racing with Pat.”

Jacqueline is a great person to name check people, but not necessarily the names you might expect. She is emphatic that her success could not have happened without the many people who have worked at Jockey Hall since it started.

“Carmel Bowden is my head person and one of the original recipients of the Stud and Stable Staff Awards. Now I can travel throughout the world and find so many of the young people who spent time at Jockey Hall, working in some of the best farms.

“I am reminded about all the hours of hand walking foals and yearlings regularly, but it makes me very proud to have known so many good people.

“My strength has been working with smaller numbers, but doing everything to a high level. This is work that requires passion, and I have been very fortunate to have great staff with similar values.”

Working with good people extends to service providers, and Jacqueline is keen to acknowledge the valuable input of people such as her “top-class” farrier Liam O’Donovan, the veterinary team at Troytown Hospital, Gillian O’Brien and more who “help bring the best out in our horses”.

Is there one piece of advice Jacqueline would have for young people in the business? “Keep your eyes open, and be open to people and new ideas. This is a wonderful business to be in and gives us the opportunity to travel, work with wonderful animals and good people. Always keep learning and enjoy it.”