How did you get into ownership?

I’ve always wanted to own a racehorse ever since I was a child. My uncle Sean Donnelly used to bring me racing and he had some lovely horses over the years. When you are in a parade ring with connections at a young age, it is hard not to get the bug.

As a group we have always had an interest in racing and would be regulars at Listowel, Galway, Cheltenham and Punchestown. We are all from Tralee and involved in different businesses. George owns George Savage Transport and The Blasket bar in Tralee and Nathan McDonnell owns Ballyseedy Home & Garden, Brian and Garrett Dillon own Dillon Waste and Mr Binman. My business, SalesSense, sponsor a race at Punchestown and Mr Binman sponsor the Christmas Festival at Limerick so, through business, we have had a hand in racing over the last few years but this was our first venture into ownership.

We spent a lot of time researching how to buy, what to buy and more importantly who to choose as a trainer.

At SalesSense we always say that the numbers are your friend and we went through the numbers. The HRI site is a fantastic site to pull together the data.

I had met Gavin Cromwell over the years and he has a great strike-rate in general and his ability to get horses right for big races has always impressed me. I spoke to him about a year ago and told him what what the longer term plan was and the type of horse we wanted. We looked at a few but eventually when myself and Garrett went on a road trip, the plan as we set out was to buy a different horse. Before we reached our destination, he was sold and we headed up the road to Jim O’Neill and Sean Doyle instead. Jim and Sean gave us a lot of time and helped us with the pros and cons of different horses.

By the time we headed home both of us only wanted one horse and that was Stumptown. He was the one Gavin was sweet on as well. He had come second to Chianti Classico in a point on ground that we didn’t feel was ideal for him. He jumped and stayed well and is by Laverock who is also Black Corton’s sire. He is very like Black Corton physically and we just liked him from the get-go, love at first sight.

When you are thinking about buying a National Hunt horse, you just hope that you get one that enjoys the game with a big heart and Stumptown just loves to train and clearly loves to race.

What was your best day at the races?

Without doubt, Stumptown winning at Limerick on his debut on October 10th. It was totally unexpected, we didn’t even have him backed but his performance and the way the race unfolded was incredible.

He ran pretty green but he moved so well from the top of the hill that we could see from a long ways out he had a real chance. He loved the ground, stayed on really well with a peach of a ride from Conor McNamara and I think it’s fair to say we were both shocked and delighted.

When you decide to buy a horse, the dream is to win a race, you certainly don’t expect to win the first time out.

What is the biggest drawback about being a racehorse owner?

We are really new owners so we haven’t experienced negatives so far. Being based in Kerry, the only drawback for us is being a bit of a distance away from Stumptown himself in Gavin’s yard. We all like to see Stumptown and spend some time with him where possible and Gavin and the team are always so accommodating.

Stumptown is a real gentle soul off the track, calm and laidback. The first day we went to visit him after buying him, my 10-year-old son sat on his back without any fuss. He is very straightforward.

Which racecourse in Ireland treats owners the best and why?

Given that it was our first outing, we can only really be appreciative of how we were treated in Limerick. Pat (O’Callaghan) and the team were so accommodating.

SalesSense sponsors a race at Punchestown and I have always said that every business could learn from how the team up there run the show. They are good communicators, highly organised, fun and just great people.

Flat or jumps, which do you prefer?

Jump racing for us, we’ve grown up watching it and dreaming about being involved. The flat keeps us interested but nothing compares to the thrill of the jumps.

What do you look for in a trainer?

As a group we hope to be involved for the long term and so we discussed trainers at length. We are blessed in Ireland to have so many good ones both big and small.

Strike rate was important. Festival strike rate, though a dream, was a consideration. A big part for us though was to be educated along the way. As this was our first time getting involved in ownership we wanted to be part of the process.

Gavin was someone who we had met and spoken to. He understood the plan and the ambition. He is very approachable and very generous with his time and these were the traits we were looking for.

There is a great buzz around Danestown and even though they have achieved so much we feel that they have so much more success ahead of them.

What improvements would you like to see racecourses in Ireland?

Racing is a great activity where you can see old friends and make new ones.

From a business perspective you get to meet a lot of people from different industries and spend time to get to know them.

There has been great improvements in the quality of the infrastructure in the bigger courses and hopefully over the coming years further investment will be made in the smaller tracks to attract a broader support base across the regions.

How do you think the current crisis will impact on racing in general?

The last two years have put a huge strain on all industries.

As things slowly move back to normality, I hope that we all appreciate the little things in life a little more.

At the races in Limerick, though fully outdoors, it was great to see people back and enjoying themselves.

I hope that when normality resumes fully more of us will take the time to go to our local race meetings, visit and appreciate our point-to-point circuit and get involved in ownership.

What can trainers or HRI do to encourage owners to keep horses in training at the moment?

The process of ownership is not as onerous as people think and the staff at both the HRI and AIR are incredibly helpful.

Continuing to focus on syndicates big and small is what the industry needs to broaden the support base in Ireland.

Syndicates dilute the cost of training and make it affordable while bringing in more owners.

More owners means more interest and in turn more supporters and that is a great thing for racing in general. Recently there were over 56 individual owners that won out of 58 races at the Listowel Racing Festival and that is a great thing.

Why did you choose your colours?

We are Kerrymen so the green and gold was a unanimous decision.

How did your syndicate get its name?

Though we bought the horse through Bellbea Holdings, the syndicate involved is the Furze Bush Syndicate.

Again that comes from the green and gold and perhaps the ability of those involved to be a bit thorny at times.

Buying a horse what do you look for?

We were and are novices so we took as much advice as we could get. As Gavin said to me after a few months searching and perhaps my patience waning, he had seen plenty but not the right one yet.

So patience is certainly required and the discipline to wait for the criteria you set out from the start.

We wanted a horse that would jump and stay. We wanted a horse that had performed in a point-to-point and who liked to train.

Regardless of how much you try to keep your feet on the ground, you have to dream and so you have to keep the potential festival hope alive.

What horses do you have in training?

Stumptown with Gavin and we have a Markaz colt that has just gone to Cian Collins in Robinstown for pre-training.

What’s next on the agenda?

Stumptown is only four and, given the unexpected nature of his recent win, it’s fair to say that the plan has changed.

We hope to get many years of enjoyment out of him so we will take our time with him. He needs soft ground and he is likely to go next in a listed novice.

Have you any young horses to look forward to?

We have a mare (Stained Glass) in foal to River Boyne so that should be interesting. Though a flat mare she is a half-sister to Main Fact who has won plenty in Britain over jumps from two to three miles so I am really looking forward to seeing what we do with her next.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming a racehorse owner?

Be patient, have a plan and build relationships with people in the game.

Undoubtedly you have to be lucky to get a good one but that doesn’t mean that from an ownership perspective you can’t enjoy the thrill of having a horse running.

Ger Teahon was in conversation with Olivia Hamilton