Tell me about your introduction to the racing industry.

My granddad was a jump jockey and then went on to become a trainer at Phoenix Park. That led to my dad’s side of the family becoming involved in the industry in one way or another. My dad, Ronan, runs a bloodstock transport business so I grew up around the bloodstock and racing industry, I had no escaping it really.

I spent a good few years with Demi O’Byrne and he still helps me to this day. I’ve learned a huge amount from him over the years.

I’m the bloodstock agent and racing manager now for Atomic Racing. I buy the horses and look after all of the owners, sending them updates. I talk to Kevin (Coleman, trainer) every day about the horses, we bounce ideas off each other, but at the end of the day he makes the final decision.

How did you decide to send all of the Atomic horses to Kevin?

When I started out as a bloodstock agent, Kevin was my first client. We bought a couple of yearlings and they worked out so the next year we wanted to try and get more investment into the yard. We got a few people on board, and we bought our first bunch of yearlings for Atomic.

We both brought owners into the syndicate and Kevin has a share in all of the horses as well. It definitely gives confidence to the owners when the trainer is involved like that.

Was it a relief for Byzantine Empress to finally shed the maiden tag?

Yeah, she’s always been very consistent, she’s been knocking on the door so I think she very much deserved to get her head in front. Her last three runs have been her best, she’s been improving with each run. She’s very straightforward and she’s genuine, she’s the kind of horse you especially want to do well.

How do you think the race panned out for her?

I thought she could be unlucky but P.J. (McDonald, jockey) gave her a great ride, he waited and when she got the splits, she was able to take them, and she was traveling like the best horse in the race. I think riding her that way is the key to her.

There’s a race or two in the U. next month, so we’ll aim for one of those. She doesn’t want too much ease in the ground, September could be the end of her season if the ground goes.

What other horses of yours should we look out for?

Annie Edson Taylor ran on Wednesday at Ffos Las; she finished second to what looks a very good filly and she’s one that will break her maiden sooner rather than later.

Shining River ran very well on Friday also at Haydock; she was only beaten half a length and was a fast-finishing third. We think she’s a nice filly and that she’ll win her maiden.

We have a half-sister to Tamfana, who was third in the French Oaks, called The Palace Girl, and we like her. We also have five unraced two-year-olds still to run, so we have plenty to look forward to.

How do you think the racing industry could improve to better cater for owners?

Some tracks are very good at looking after their owners, for me Naas is one of the best, but there’s more that tracks could do to entertain owners on the day. I think we should be looking at the Australian model in terms of syndication, they have the healthiest bloodstock market in the world at the moment, and the way they do syndication and how they look after their owners is second to none.

If you look after the owners that you already have, it in turn encourages people around them to get involved.

Would you say that being part of a syndicate is a good way to be involved?

With syndicates, and especially in Atomic Racing, we want to spread the risk for our owners and allow them to focus on the horses and the enjoyment that comes with it. Some of our shareholders have originally come looking for us to buy them a horse and to get involved in just that one and they’ve ended up in Atomic having shares in over 10 horses instead.

You could buy one horse for them, and it might not run for a year, or they might get injured, or it might not be any good. At least when they’re spread across a number of horses, for the same cost of having one horse, it increases their chance of having a good horse, having fun and getting plenty of action at the races.

I think we need to put syndicates on par with how they are run in Australia. When starting Atomic, I undertook a lot of research into different ways of running a syndicate, the business behind it, and how to get the most out of it for the owners I have on board. I found that I got most of my ideas from Australian syndicates and it is great to see that every syndicate needs to be regulated in Australia. Hopefuly this is taken on board in Ireland in the future.

As well as that, the sales companies give the syndicators sales credit until they’ve sold out their shares.

I plan on travelling to Australia in the new year to learn more about how they operate their syndicates.

What advice that you would give to someone wanting to get into ownership?

I would recommend different ownership models or different trainers depending on what people want to get from the ownership experience and their budget. It all depends on what they want, but a syndicate is a good way to get started. It’s a good introduction to the industry at a lesser investment.