IT’S always great to see racing photographs on the front pages of newspapers but in recent times it’s shots from the bloodstock sales which have been getting more mainstream coverage.

On both Monday and Wednesday this week The Examiner used a front page photo from Tattersalls Ireland, and the Irish Independent also published a large image from the sales inspections on Monday.

The Fairyhouse photographs were taken by Morgan Treacy of the Inpho agency, who has been commissioned by Tattersalls Ireland to attend most of their sales for the past couple of years.

Morgan has over 20 years’ experience as a professional photographer and attends major sporting events all over the world but, thanks mainly to Horse Racing Ireland, he is a regular at the races and at trainers’ yards these days.

Asked how he gets his shots on the front pages of the dailies, Morgan told us: “It’s a combination of factors. You might have the best photograph in the world and it won’t get used anywhere if there is breaking news overnight.

“The nature of newspaper production these days means there is very little space available for what we call freestanding photos. Most pages are planned in advance. You’re lucky if one extra photo is published and there could be 10 agencies vying for that spot.

“Last Monday I was lucky there had been no major sporting events the day before and the politicians were still on holidays.”

Morgan has noticed that picture editors seem to like his portraits of grooms having a quiet moment with their foal or yearling before it goes into the ring. “It’s that bond with the horse – people like to see it. Often you hear people say racing is all about betting and the horses are just commodities but that’s not true. We overlook the connection between the human and the horse. These people love their animals and it is tough for them when they are being sold – I can see that.”

Today (Saturday) Morgan is hoping to attend Jessica Harrington’s open day. “I’ve been at a few of the recent open mornings,” he said. “Gordon Elliott’s was like a mini-festival. When I arrived in the car park I thought I was at Electric Picnic!”