Tell us a little bit about your background in racing and how Temple Bloodstock came about.

I rode as an amateur for the guts of nine years. Like every young person interested in racing I wanted to be a jockey. I had some lovely winners and enjoyed it. I was 25 last year and I just felt that I had enough of it. I didn’t want to be 30 and still doing what I was doing. I wanted to use what I had learned over the years to impact the game more. I just felt that I had more to offer than riding.

So, I came up with the idea of Temple Bloodstock. I bought one horse out of France with a nice rating on the flat. I put an ad in the paper and did a bit on social media. Thankfully, he filled up fairly quickly. That was the start of it really. We have built up a nice bunch of clients this year.

Tell us more about your riding days, you had some nice winners at some big festivals.

It was unbelievable, winning the Amateur Handicap at Galway two years in a row in 2017 and 2018. They were brilliant times. Those memories will last me a lifetime. I could have stayed riding and still done what I’m doing now but I wanted to give Temple Bloodstock 100%. I’d rather devote myself to it rather than try to juggle it with riding. My last ride was at Galway on Whiskey Sour in 2022. I was happy to ride Whiskey that day and leave it there.

Your father Luke has had some fantastic horses over the years. It must have been great for you and your family to be connected with some great horses.

Yeah, my father has been a very lucky owner over the years. We have been very lucky as a family to have been involved with plenty of good horses. My father has had a very close relationship with Willie Mullins for many years now. They go back a long way and they have been very lucky together. The likes of So Young, Uradel and Whiskey Sour have all been very good to us.

So Temple Bloodstock had its first winner a couple of weeks ago with My Great Mate. That was a fantastic win.

It was indeed. It was great to get the ball rolling and get the first winner under the belt. I liked the horse’s first run in Killarney. I just thought he had a lot of quality about him. He has a fantastic pedigree. You know, when people get into racing it generally comes from watching the big meetings and the Saturday racing. So, the whole idea is to try to get quality horses and we think this lad is a quality horse. The race in Punchestown was earmarked as well. So, the folks who bought in got a reward very quickly. It was a great start for everyone.

It looked like it was a competitive bumper too, on paper anyway.

Yeah, I think it was. Andrew Slattery’s horse [Fleur In The Park] has a fantastic pedigree and came into the race with a big reputation. It was no gimme. I think our horse still had the best form in the race though. He got the job done, thankfully. I think if he settled and raced properly, he would have made it a lot easier on himself. I haven’t seen a horse run the way he ran and still win in a good while. He is only a four-year-old and he will learn to race properly but he must have a fair engine to do what he did.

So, what is next on the agenda for him, do you think?

There is nothing confirmed just yet but I think Willie might be keen to keep the horse to bumpers this season. He is only a four-year-old and has probably done plenty already.

The thinking is that he can always go jumping next year and he will only be a five-year-old. I’d say he could run after Christmas I would imagine and it will more than likely be another bumper.

You are doing this interview from the sales at the moment. Can you tell us about the current Temple Bloodstock roster?

I plan to have a nice number of syndicate horses. We have three horses at the moment - My Great Mate, another nice horse named Tounsivator that we bought in France, and a filly we are leasing named Hey Sunshine. We are looking forward to Tounsivator. He should be out in the new year. Listowel was the target for Hey Sunshine but she just had a small niggle. She is going to be a good-ground mare next spring.

So, tell us about Willie Mullins. It must be a big bonus to have the best in the game training your horses. What do you think are the factors that put Willie so far ahead of the chasing pack?

It is indeed, I’ve been riding out for him since I was 12. I have known him for a long time. I’ve learned an awful lot from him. I suppose to try and pinpoint what makes him so successful is a bit of a million-dollar question but I think his team is a huge factor. The team he has around him in his son Patrick, David Casey, Gráinne Whelan and Ruby Walsh.

They’re not a team that just came overnight. They are around Willie for 20-odd years. They know the way Willie likes to get things done. They know how he thinks and when to bring things up.

I think Willie is also fantastic at giving a horse time. Year after year, you see the longevity that Willie gets out of his horses. They are not one-season tricks. Look at Carefully Selected last year winning the Thyestes after two years off the track. He gives horses time to get them to where he wants them to be.

Is there anything that you think racing, and those that run it, can do to improve the sport in any way?

There are a handful of owners who are buying the best horses and that makes it very hard for the ordinary fella to get involved. So I think the price of horses and the ability to own a piece of a nice horse is a huge issue.

I’d like to think that the two or three horses with Temple will be lucky for the investors. My Great Mate has quality about him. So I aim to be able to compete with Temple horses at Saturday meetings against those select owners. I think it’s a good thing for racing, as a whole.

If you would like to get involved with Temple Bloodstock get in touch with Aubrey at aubrey@templebloodstock.com