NEXT month, I have the privilege of consigning a No Nay Never colt at the Dubai Sales, under our Drumphea Stables banner.

Having only pinhooked my first yearling in 2019, it is fantastic to be represented at such a prestigious event.

With our colt being the only progeny of his sire at this sale, I am hopeful that he can sell well, in doing so, helping to establish our farm as major consignors.

The interest in horses definitely came from my father - my mom only played along with it! Dad would have hunted and kept a few ponies, so his passion clearly rubbed off on us as kids.

Growing up, we would have taken part in pony games and pony club, before going on to hunt with the Carlow Farmers. The late Jackie Corrigan, who only passed away last month, would have been master of the hunt in those years.

With the seeds for a career in the equine industry well and truly sown on the hunting fields, I went on to study Horticulture at Waterford Institute of Technology.

Although I knew that I wanted to one day work with horses, it was important to have a back-up plan! During college, I did my work experience with Joe and Jane Foley at Ballyhane Stud in Carlow.

Trading horses

Jane was doing the breezers at that time; I rode out every morning and helped prep the horses for all of the major sales. I loved the idea of trading horses, having done the odd bit with both hunters and thoroughbreds over the years.

In truth, I loved it at Ballyhane and didn’t want to go back to college but I returned to finish my education.

After WIT, I spent two years working for Willie Mullins. I rode out at Closutton and looked after a barn where George (Mullins) had his horses.

During those couple of years, I learned an awful lot, so much so, that I still use many of Willie’s methods to the present day. His attention to detail is second to none; the horses are always healthy and built up steadily.

Willie was a great teacher and I kept my ear to the ground. In 2014, I went to New Zealand to work for Paul Nelson, a leading jumps trainer based in the Hawkes Bay area.

It was a very different experience to what I had been used to at home - as his yard was located over 45 minutes from the nearest town, everything was done in-house; so, Paul shod his own horses and did their teeth.

The horses lived outside the whole time as well. Despite the somewhat unorthodox methods, Paul Nelson is a hugely successful trainer who has enjoyed plenty of winners under both codes.

Horse capital

After 12 months, I moved on to Australia, where I rode track work for trainer Luke Griffiths at Scone. That training centre, located in the Hunter Valley, is regarded as the horse capital of the country and I met many fellow Irish during that period.

I then went on to work for Chris Waller (Winx was in training at the time) and Darren Weir, before doing a season breaking horses for Godolphin.

I returned to Ireland in 2019, two days before the Fairyhouse September Sale. Armed with a new found love for speed horses, following my time in Australia, I went and bought a breezer.

Nicholas Callahan, an investor in the current business, came on board and has been involved ever since. Fortunately, the Dandy Man colt I bought turned out to be decent, allowing us to reinvest the following year.

In the meantime, I started riding out for Jessica Harrington in the mornings, while doing the breezers in the afternoons. I rent a yard from Fran Flood in Grangecon, which is less than 10 minutes from Mrs Harrington’s stables.

I am very lucky to be allowed use Mrs Harrington’s gallops to educate my breezers further, as I believe that away days are very important in bringing them on mentally. The feedback from Mrs Harrington’s jockeys is invaluable - Scott McCullagh and Nathan Crosse are both excellent judges.

In 2020, we did very well with another Dandy Man, subsequently sold to Jane Chapple Hyam. Albadri won his maiden first time out and went on to be rated in the high 90’s.

Five yearlings

Last year, we bought five yearlings, with Jack Spain an integral part of the team, essentially providing a second set of eyes for me. Conor Quirke of Quirke Bloodstock then went over the short list and offered further insights.