MARK and Nigel had great success when, after multiple tries since claiming the horse, Politicise finally put his head in front at Down Royal last Sunday.

How did you get interested in horse racing?

My father would always have had a great interest in thoroughbreds. My grandfather used to go racing a good bit as well. He always went to Galway and we used to be brought along. We always had horses around the place and I suppose that’s where I got the interest from.

So how did ‘De Bad Back Syndicate’ come about?

I’m good friends with Nigel Slevin. The syndicate is made up of the two of us. I think it was after Galway in 2022 I mentioned to Nigel the possibility of getting a horse. A couple of weeks later we claimed Politicise from a race at Dundalk. The horse was after having a back operation and myself and Nigel are farriers so that is where the name ‘De Bad Back Syndicate’ comes from.

Tell us about Politicise, he had some previous good runs before finally getting his head in front last weekend.

Yeah, one person told me last week that he is a bit of a two-faced kind of horse. He runs well in good races and badly in poor company. He can be a tricky horse but he has loads of ability. He won a really good race with Ado McGuinness but he seemed to be a horse that needed a break after every run. The quicker you ran him, the less interest he had. Just a tricky horse in general.

And you have fluctuated between hurdling and chasing with him?

When we first got him we ran him in a chase. He ran well enough, he was second at Fairyhouse though his jumping was a bit sketchy. We tried him back over hurdles a couple of times to try and get a bit of confidence into his jumping. It seemed to work and he had a very good run at Leopardstown over Christmas. We weren’t expecting much that day and he ran a cracker.

Tell us a bit about Down Royal and what that feeling was like when he did get his head in front.

I actually didn’t make it myself. We had two birthday parties with our young ones here. It was a great feeling all the same though. It was a good buzz. We have had him now for 15 months and we have had near misses and disappointing runs and all that goes along with it. Just for it to click was fantastic.

Nigel hasn’t been afraid to run him on heavy ground either, is he a fan of ground that soft?

I suppose so, he does like heavy ground. He loves it soft anyway. He doesn’t want good ground, we found that out at Aintree. We ran him there in July last year. We went over for a day trip hoping he would win, we weren’t going over for the craic. He just didn’t want to know about it. It was fast enough that day and he just downed his tools after the second jump. He is a pure winter horse.

How have you found the overall ownership experience?

It’s enjoyable, it’s nice going to the races with your horse. The only thing is the cost, it can get quite expensive at times. It’s an expensive hobby. I’ve been working with horses my whole life so it is enjoyable you know. I wouldn’t be a massive betting man. I just enjoy the day out.

Any discussions with Nigel about what might be next on the agenda for Politicise?

We are planning to go to the sales with him. My wife and I have just bought a house so we are hoping selling the horse might pay for something.

Is there a story behind the colours?

There is actually. I hadn’t even thought about colours when we were getting the horse. Nigel said that he had colours there belonging to a man that had a horse a few years ago. He never came back to collect the colours. That was grand until the horse ran in those colours the first day and your man came knocking looking for his colours back. I think we just changed the sleeves then, they were pink and we just made them black and white.

You touched on your work as a farrier, I often think that farriers are as good as anyone at judging a horse’s temperament and knowing how to approach a horse in a certain manner, is that fair to say?

Yeah definitely, I’ve had my fair share of kicks in my time. As a farrier, you are at the mercy of the horse as you spend a lot of time in under it. In terms of how you approach a horse, it’s all dependent on the individual horse. It’s a tough job at times. Even if a horse moves a bit, that can be 500 kilos shifting on you.

Does our own demeanour have to be a certain way when shoeing a tricky horse?

Absolutely. If you are in bad form yourself the horse knows it. They pick up on it straight away. I don’t know if it’s that they get to know the van or what, but just by driving in a horse will sense that a farrier is in the yard. They are very intelligent animals you know. Some horses like you and some don’t. That’s just the way it is.

If someone were to approach you looking for advice on ownership, what would you tell them?

I suppose you have to be on the same page as your trainer. Horses are animals at the end of the day, they are not robots. They are not going to have a good day every day and you have to roll with the punches.