AFTER the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, it soon became apparent that there were two types of people, that productive person who learned a new language or musical instrument and that not-so-productive person who had grand intentions to change things up but just never got around to it.

Then there is the Sands family, from Termonfeckin, Co Louth. They went ahead and started up their own international and racing breeding operation which currently stands at 40 horses and growing on the track in Ireland, Britain, Australia and America, while the embryonic stage of the breeding arm is now beginning to activate.

Make no mistake, not a speck of dust has gathered on this endeavor, rather it’s been full steam ahead. The excelerator hit the floor in June when Bronsan caught the attention of the flat racing world by going to a whopping £1.1 million to acquire Givemethebeatboys from the Marnane family at the Goffs Royal Ascot Sale.

And yet, that headline-grabbing purchase has been largely out of sync with their modus operandi - which has been solidified by investing into partnerships with been-there-done-that figures in the industry, with a primary focus to learn on the job themselves as a best practice to develop their overall investment.

The operation is made up of a trio - Con (father), Neil and Irene. Con has developed property for most of his professional life but always had a keen interest in racing and breeding, stemming from his own father.

Before Covid, Neil had just come back from the Silicon Valley, where he was a technology executive, working in experience design for major companies for a decade, and he is currently working on more projects at home. Irene is a barrister but now runs Bronsan Racing’s increasingly hectic day-to-day affairs, having been prised away by her father and brother during the pandemic.

They have mostly been involved in flat racing but caught further attention last weekend when they had a winner on both days of the Fairyhouse Winter Festival - Solness and Nurburgring who both look like top prospects for the big festivals in the new year - so needless to say, these are exciting times for an outfit with big ambitions, but a calmly steady attitude as to how they go about achieving them.

“I came home just before Covid time, and over the course of those two years when we were all trying to figure out what to do with ourselves, me and dad started chatting about racing - for a while it was the only thing on television,” Neil takes up the story. “Dad has a long history and involvement in horse racing, his father was the same. So about three years ago, we made investments in a number of partnerships, which are very much the make up of our stable.

“We fell into a couple of partnerships, but there were a couple of really meaningful ones that we still maintain an interest in - the likes of Johne Murphy’s Stride Racing and Justin Casse’s Magnolia Racing and once we had the lie of the land on the partnership side, we started making investments in our own stable.

“Irene is the COO and in charge of almost everything that happens with our stock from a day to day basis. I just generally take the credit or the blame when the horses come good or bad. Our father is the conciliary, he has his eyes on the breeding sheets and the form and he has a very good strike rate down the years.

“We also have Hubie de Burgh and Martin Buick helping us with the procurement side and Aidan O’Ryan on the National Hunt side. We’ve partnered with James Harron in the UK and we’ve a number of partnerships between America and Australia.

“We really love to be involved with those partnerships because they bring us into new friendships with people and introduce us into international circles that we wouldn’t be that familiar with.”

The short term objective is to learn and gain experience. Taking up that point, Irene says: “As much as we love the horses and the game, it’s equally as important to be surrounded by good people and the right people. We’re relatively new to the game so we’re very open to guidance and advice, so to continue to build on those relationships and partnerships would be of paramount importance.

“I’m trying to convince the boys that we could get involved with another one or two National Hunt horses but I don’t know if that was a particularly well received opinion given the amount we already have!

“We just want to continue to grow. What Neil and dad have established together, I’ve come in to keep control on both of them essentially! They’ve built a magnificent enterprise and business themselves and I’m only kind of coming in and being passed the baton and I can only hope to continue to grow it with them. I’m very lucky that I get to do that with my brother and my dad.”

Through the horses they own outright themselves and those which they are involved with in partnerships, Brosnan have stock with Joseph O’Brien, Willie Mullins, Jessica Harrington, Gordon Elliott, Fozzy Stack, George Boughey and Ollie Sangster, while the relatively local Ado McGuinnes will soon be joining roster.

Longer term, the main ambition for Bronsan is to develop their own breeding program so that in time, it provides a considerable contribution to their racing stock. A love of the horse is central to everything so it’s no surprise, not least given their rural background, that there is a yearning to get involved from the very start of the process. That cycle has already begun, which is notably exciting to Con.

“Where are you going to get breeding stock from?” he asks rhetorically. “You’ve got to upgrade it yourself. In that regard, we have been in touch with very reputable guys and we’ve done half shares in mares and foals and all the rest. That’s the way forward I think.

“We have some nice fillies, we’ve a Sea The Stars, a Galileo, all well bred animals. We’re hoping that something will come forward but the breeding is just like the racing, if you’ve 10 mares, you might be lucky if you get two good foals. It’s a numbers game and you need a bit of luck. It’s like the racing, we take advice where we can, ask the people that we are involved with for their opinion - after that, it’s in the lap of the gods.”

Taking off from that point, Neil adds: “It’s important to maintain a certain degree of risk when you’re investing, particularly in the high end stuff. But just like everybody else, despite all the best advice and the endless analysis for weeks on end before the auctions, there is just so much luck involved.

“We’re a rural family and would have been around dairy farming and agricultural pursuits for most of our lives. There is a reality score on everything we do, particularly the breeding, it’s fraught with a lot of danger when it comes to the heath of the animal and the conformation.

“Just to maintain a breeding operation is a gargantuan task but it would be great to think that we could provide our own racing stock regularly down the line. We’ve made our investments now and we’re just hopeful that they stay sound. Look, god knows what will happen, but it’s exciting, and it’s the way we are looking at things long term.

We need to talk about Givemethebeatboys. The Bungle Inthejungle colt has had a rather interesting season for Bronsan, starting in Kensington Palace and ending prematurely in Santa Anita.

“We always thought we’d like to have a runner at Ascot,” Con explains. “I thought going to the sale that night we might have two or three runners. It turned out we could only get one.!

“It was an Australian consortium involved in it (the bidding) and they were anxious to bring him down to Australia. We were prepared to go a certain distance but Henry Beeby is very persuasive when he’s on the podium and he managed to squeeze one more out of us.

“Having said that we’ve no regrets about it now, we’ve had great times with him. He’s a beautiful animal and he’ll make a lovely three-year-old. He’s really a six-furlong horse and we’re looking forward to him.

The Marnane family maintained a 25% share in the colt, who finished fourth in the Coventry the day after he was bought, third in the Phoenix Stakes and then fourth in the Middle Park before travelling to California, accompanied by a crew of both the Marnanes and Sands families and friends.

“It’s a fabulous event, the Breeder’s Cup,” Irene says. “We had such a fantastic night on Thursday at the opening party and then on Friday morning I got a phone call from Kate, saying they were scratching the horse.

“My first thought was, ‘Oh god, something has happened to him’ but then she told me he was fine. Look, it was gut wrenching, very disappointing. The regulatory board in California are very cautious and operate differently to what we do at home. Everyone has the same interest at heart, We went out with a perfect horse and came home with a perfect horse and that’s all that matters.”

That level of perspective was well found at the time but clearly more so now following the very sad passing of Theresa Marnane last week. After their two winners at Fairyhouse over the weekend, the Sands were very much thinking of the Marnane family.

“I’ve heard so many reports back from the girls and Con (Marnane), that Theresa was really proud of what happened with Givemethebeatboys,” Neil says. “It’s a partnership that has really transcended racing for us. There has been absolutely years worth of craic in the last six months. We’ve had a very fun time with the Marnanes and I know Theresa will be sadly, sadly missed.”

Given his background, having worked with the likes of Disney and Forbes to develop consumer experiences, it’s interesting to get the perspective of Neil on Irish racing and whether the sport is living up to its true potential from a consumer point of view.

“It isn’t,” he replies matter-of-factly. “The reason I can say confidently that we are under performing in Ireland against our ambition, is that when you look at the likes of Australia and you look at the Everest and there’s up on 80 to 100,000 people there with an average of 36, the next generation really are welcomed into observation and attending the meeting, and of horse ownership. Over 1 in 200 people in Australia have a share in a horse, that’s a massive number.

“The likes of Stride Racing and those syndicates, they are making fractional ownership available to the next generation and I think that has to be pushed much much more becuse 1% or 100% of a horse, it means the very very same to you on the day when the gate open. I think we could be doing a far better job at including all cohorts of whether it’s students or fellas for themselves or otherwise on the ownership side.”

Off the back of that point, Irene adds: “I think there possibly needs to be a slight shift on how racing is perceived. I think it’s easy to say you can’t be involved in racing unless you have very deep pockets, or you can’t be involved in racing unless you know about horses or you have a connection or you have some in.

“That shouldn’t be the perception because it is not the case. You can get into a syndicate now for €200 a year and not have to worry about vet fees, travel costs etc. I don’t think enough people know that option is there.”

Talk can be cheap but not in this case because while the Sands’ personal long-term objective is to develop their own outright ownership model, they continue to put their money where their mouth is to back these syndicates such as Stride and Magnolia Racing.

“We are big believers in investing in the next generation of this game,” Neil asserts. “Joseph O’Brien trains most of our horses but everywhere else we have horses, you can see the young people coming through.

“I’m a big believer that the future of this game is extremely bright if you look at the next generation. We speak to a lot of folks that are under the age of 30 and they are really passionate about the game and when you see the syndicate model that has been so successful elsewhere, there’s no reason that can’t be true of Ireland, we’ve a better product by miles in terms of the thoroughbreds we have here.

“I think the future is very bright and we’re certainly looking at the more progressive and some of the younger folks who are in that.”