A LOOK through the lists of students who completed the Irish National Stud Thoroughbred Management Course, first held in 1971, is to read a who’s who of the thoroughbred breeding, racing and sales world. Few years have made an impact on the global business like the class of 1984.

The graduates have scattered to the four corners of the world in search of careers, and many are now household names. The year is also remembered, sadly, for one of its members who died in January 1998 at the age of 31.