TURNING off the motorway to head for Kells, Co Kilkenny is to feel like you are in God’s Country. No doubt helped by being too long in lockdown, one gets a real sense of peace and beauty as you travel the country roads, leading to the home, and business, of the new chairman of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association.

The destination is Rossenarra Stud, home to John and Pauline McEnery. This third-generation custodian of a fine equine tradition is, as he always appears, an oasis of calm. This is despite an overnight whirlwind that his veterinary surgeon told him had caused a degree of upset, something you don’t need for young stock who are otherwise trying to take advantage of a long spell of settled weather.

However, you feel that storms are simply a challenge to the master of Rossenarra, a pragmatist who inherited that quality from the previous master, John’s greatly-missed father Martyn. The latter, a producer of some excellence who will retain a place in racing’s history as the breeder of the three-time Grand National hero Red Rum, was more than simply a mentor to John – he was his hero. Martyn’s loss is still keenly felt.

John and Martyn worked cheek by jowl for many years, and one could not pay McEnery the younger a greater compliment than to say he is ‘his father’s son’. When I suggest that Martyn was the complete horseman, John never hesitated. “Ah he was, he breathed it. He was wonderful to work with; he didn’t go making an issue of things.

“If you worked with him, and you looked at what he was doing, you just learned every day. He was also a good farmer, and he knew what he had. He was a good people person in this way – people he was working with used to love working for him. Dad might say boo the odd time, but if you were willing to make the effort he let you work away. He was a great man to learn from.”

Fine reputation

John’s grandfather Jack was another who enjoyed a fine reputation, though his grandson never knew him. Jack’s big involvement with equines was in the sport horse side, and he sold a lot of horses to the army. “When Major Dermot [McCalmont] was going to the war he had to sell a few horses, and Jack bought some of the mares out of the farm. That’s when my grandfather really started to get into the thoroughbreds.”

The family homestead at that time was in Kilmoganny, but the family quickly established that the land there was not suitable to rear young stock for the flat, being too hilly. Point-to-pointing was a big part of the equine activity at the time. So the farm at Kells was bought.

Questioned about whether John had ever been tempted to head to America, a route taken by many of his generation as part of their education in the business, he says he wasn’t, before revealing a little-known fact. “Dad went to America. A trainer from there, Tom Barry, came to Rossenarra when my father was a young man to look at the yearlings. Barry admired the way Dad was doing his job and was so thorough.

“He said to Dad, as he was leaving, that if he ever came over to the States to look him up. I think within a month Dad had his bag packed and went over, but he never told Tom Barry. He just knocked on the door and said ‘here I am’. Barry suggested that he might have said he was coming, but they got on great and it was a wonderful experience.”

The extended McEnery family at the 2011 ITBA awards \ carolinenorris.ie

Move to Kells

Martyn had to return to Ireland following his father’s death. In the early sixties he built a house on the farm in Kells and moved with his wife Maire. There they raised their children, daughter Hazel and sons Paul and John.

While Martyn was an all-round horseman, showing as well as breeding, he wanted to get into the flat business. Ironically, while he had great success over decades as a breeder, he also produced some iconic National Hunt performers, usually flat-bred, and they included Red Rum, the brilliant two-mile chaser Remittance Man, and the Stayers’ Hurdle winner Bacchanal.

While John’s parents never pressured him, following in his father’s footsteps seemed somehow preordained. At school in Newbridge College (“I went to the wrong school” he laughs), a classmate was Eoin Harty. “I joined the cycling club and the school was only three miles from the Curragh. I just loved going racing. One weekend I got out of class, got on my bike, went racing and the first people I walked into were Mum and Dad. My mother got the shock of her life.

“However, for the next couple of Curragh meetings, Dad would ring me to find out if I was going too.” After school John went home and it was there that he stayed. He says, with great pride and emotion: “Listen, I had the best deal with Dad, you know. We are very alike. I had wonderful respect for him.”

John’s mum, though not from a farming or equine background, was never far from the action and Martyn relied on her wisdom, and John says he does too. “She is very reassuring,” he says.

Derek Iceton, Christy Grassick, Sasha Kerins, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, Martin Heydon and John McEnery as part of the ITBA team making their Budget 2020 presentation to Government

Transformation

When it comes to the breeding game, John has seen a transformation from also standing stallions, to now simply having a broodmare band. “We don’t do the numbers thing. We try to do what we do well, and look after the horses. The wheel turns, but when you don’t do the numbers, you have to be patient. There’s a cycle. If you are lucky enough to get two or three good mares, then they will keep you going.”

Having all the right ingredients gives a breeder the best chance of success. People matter, as John explains. “Staff are scarce at the moment, but we have been very lucky over the years with people working on the farm. Anyone that stays has a great interest in the horse and doing things right.”

While breeding to race is always key, John admits that you also have to be commercial. Getting the balance doesn’t happen by chance, though John also includes a dollop of luck in the recipe for success. That said, he has enjoyed good fortune on the track and in the sale ring with a number of stallions who have gone on to enjoy further success. Danetime was one and Dark Angel another.

John loved having sires at Rossenarra and admits to missing that side of the business. However, his father Martyn advised that this area of activity was not going to be viable in the long term, in spite of having stood some horses who rewarded breeders well. Many an Irish commercial breeder has had reason to be grateful for Fayruz, a great favourite of John’s. “He was a cracking looking horse.”

O’Callaghan brothers

Over many years John has forged a strong relationship with Tony O’Callaghan in Tally-Ho Stud and his brother Gay in Yeomanstown. “We have supported both the O’Callaghan brothers for years. They suit us because they are no-nonsense people, and we are no-nonsense people. We just get on with the job, and take it on the chin when necessary.”

As Maire was a bedrock for John’s father, so too is Pauline for John himself. The McEnery dynasty now includes a fourth Rossenarra generation.

“Fiona is very, very keen, while Christopher is doing engineering. He has a good job in Cork but he loves the farm and comes home at the weekend. It’s wonderful that they are interested and respect the place. We have a younger daughter, Hazel, and she is going to college this year.”

John has a wonderful sense of humour, and a laugh that is infectious. The smile on his face is broad as he says of Hazel, “she’s our most stylish rider but we can’t get her to look at a horse!”

Ever the diplomat, Pauline was the one to encourage John to focus on what he is best at. He laughs aloud. “I was very lucky with Pauline. I was a bad trainer. I was a bad jockey. Having enjoyed both, and dabbled in it for a while, the best part of it was that you learned about racing.”

Red Rum and Tommy Stack \ Healy Racing

Breeding game

Having enjoyed success in the breeding game, John explained a little about his modus operandi when it comes to buying fillies to fill the breeding sheds at Rossenarra. “First of all I always go for correctness. Then it is ratings as these have become very important. Then you have to like the filly. If there is one thing I’ve learned about mares, it is when you buy a mare you have to buy her yourself. You have to live with her, you have to look at her every day, and you can have her for a long time.

“You won’t grow to love her. The day you buy is the day you sell, but generally if you have a nice mare you usually have a nice foal. You have to dream and I hope someday that I will land on a mare who will breed me a Guineas or a Derby winner.”

Turning to the politics of his new role as chairman of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, John again displays great stoicism. “I’m comfortable with the role. Sure it’s part of what I do. I would not have taken it on if I didn’t think I could make a fist of it. I have a bit to learn, I admit, but all the mechanics are in place and I have Shane [O’Dwyer, CEO] and the executive council to help me out.”

Getting more involved in the last year with the Association, when he took over as vice-chairman from Des Leadon, has been an enlightening experience, and he has increased admiration for his predecessor in that understudy role. “The amount of work that the ITBA does in phenomenal. As for Des, he is a superman. He is brilliant at what he does and he’s so good for the industry. We are lucky to have him.”

Challenging times

John takes the reins as chairman from Christy Grassick at a time of immense challenge. While not underestimating this, John also sees a big difference between now and 2007/8. “The one difference now is that the money has to be somewhere. The question is whether people want to spend it or not. Back in 2007 the money was gone.

“The fact that racing has got going again definitely inspires people to stay involved, and if they are winning races they will certainly want to stay in. The racing is creating a trade. With that up and running, we are back on the road.

“Our reputation as breeders is well recognised, and the message continues to get out there. However, you have to keep working at it. The work of bloodstock agents is becoming more important and they are the key to the success of the sales. They have all the clients now, and hopefully they will want to come and buy a winner.”

John has identified a number of areas that he sees as key to the success of his time in office. Addressing the AGM of the ITBA upon his elevation to the role of chairman, he clearly set out his roadmap. He told members: “I propose to carry out a strategic review in the coming weeks, so we can remain relevant in a very different environment.

“I encourage as many council members to come on board as we set up a small number of working committees to help us achieve this. I also plan to call on breeders who are non-council members to bring their expertise, to help make these committees effective.

“Another priority, as part of this plan, will focus on improving our strategic communications as we move into a very different political landscape. Brexit and the proposed animal health legislation remain high on our agenda. The hard work done to date in this area will continue as a priority.”

Strategic communications

He expanded on the subject of strategic communications. “We need to find a way of having someone in Government and getting a stronger voice. We are part of agriculture. I don’t think some politicians realise how many people are employed, how many livelihoods depend on us. We are an important business and we have to be able to sell that better.

“The landscape is changing and we have to deal with all the parties now. The one important thing is that our business is very green. We need to be able to tell our story to Government. We need to be organised and ready for the changes ahead. We have a great team and, at the end of the day, our markets have to be right.”

One key working module that John likes is teamwork. It is something he hopes to make part of the Association’s DNA. “I like to be part of a team and to bring everybody together. I look back on my time at Gowran Park, which is very successful, and how Ned Mahon brought people in and got everyone working together. Years later and all of those people are now on the board.”

Cathy Grassick is the new ITBA vice-chairman and John is looking forward to working with her, especially in the area of communications. “I am delighted Cathy is on board. She is very good, very thorough.” He will also be encouraging more young members, the future of the industry, to come on board. He has great belief in the next generation.

He concludes with a challenge to them and the industry, with echoes of a recent Irish classic-winning trainer ringing in my ears. “Everybody has to man up now.”