How did you get interested in racing?

My grandfather used to go to the point-to-points and I used to go along with him. He used to set up the pallets for the bookie’s pitches. I suppose I didn’t really get into racing until I finished playing sport. There would be a good few lads involved in the syndicate that come from a GAA background. When I met my wife, she suggested I go racing in Cheltenham for my stag. I got the bug then for it.

How did the syndicate come about?

Yeah, it started with the few lads that used to go racing together. We had just gotten a bug for it and we wanted to set up something. We have had two horses so far. We had a horse called Saga Aravis. He won and was placed seven times. He picked up an injury at the start of the year and unfortunately and that was that for a short while. Then we came across Conyers Hill who won at Cork last Sunday. For a syndicate that’s only had 26 runs, we have won three times and have been placed nine times. We are doing very well and we have been very fortunate in that regard.

I presume with so many Wexford men in the syndicate that the colours resemble those of the Yellowbellies.

They do indeed. The colours were designed by Adrian Fenlon. He is a former Wexford hurler who has a couple of All-Stars to his name. There was a lad from Wicklow who wanted to go with Wicklow colours and a lad from Mayo who wanted to go with Mayo colours but the majority Wexford vote won out in the end. There are maybe eight or nine former Wexford players involved. I must mention as well Eamon Mernagh from Mernaghs pub in Oilgate. He is involved as well and we always have good craic in there after racing regardless of the result.

So, tell us about Conyers Hill then, he is after racking up two wins on the bounce after a summer break.

Yeah, I suppose when we got him first, we didn’t really know what we had. We ran him the first day and he finished third in Clonmel on a sloppy day. Sean O’Keeffe rode him and liked him. So we thought we had something good. We finished second to Banntown Girl in Ballinrobe. He didn’t run up to scratch in Wexford then and James and Paul weren’t that happy with him and a few more in the yard. So we gave him a summer break and he has turned inside out since returning. We have changed tactics a bit with him. We drop him out the back and let him lob along and he seems to prefer that. It’s after working out the last two outings anyway.

He battled well to keep his head in front on the line last Sunday, didn’t he?

When he jumped the second last, he looked like the most obvious winner and then he cocked his head a bit when he hit the front. I actually didn’t know he had won until the result was called. Because of the angle that we were at, we weren’t really sure. When the result was called then it was absolutely brilliant. Especially to have the children there as well. The whole way home in the car my young one was asking when we could go again. Sure, I was trying to explain to her that we won’t be winning every time we go racing!

So what will be next on the agenda for him?

Well, he got 8lb off the handicapper. I thought that was fairly harsh. He is up to 120 now. Paul and James will look for a race for him. We would like to run over Christmas at one of the festivals but we will leave it up to the two lads. I think we will keep him hurdling anyway.

Paul Nolan is another good Wexford man like yourself. He has had top-quality horses and has been a very good trainer for a long time now. What factors do you think have brought him that success over the years?

Paul and James are brilliant. They wear their heart on their sleeve. When they get a proper horse they know exactly what to do with him. It’s a pity that big owners don’t send better horses to them because when they do get a good one they know how to get the best out of them.

The yard is fabulous. They have been so good to us. We know them from their GAA background as well and their two very driven lads in and out of racing. Just two genuinely good people. Everyone out in the yard is fantastic as well.

There are a lot of sales happening at the moment, especially for foals and yearlings. Would the syndicate have any plans to reinvest?

Well, I have tended to buy a foal or two every year for the last couple of years. We haven’t really discussed any plans to buy anything else with the syndicate as of yet. Personally, I would love to reinvest in a foal for the syndicate itself and have something coming along there. But it would be a big ask for a syndicate with that many people in it to wait four or five years for something to come along. At the moment, I think we are happy enough to have just the one and long may the success continue.

As an owner how have you and the syndicate found the racecourse experience? Is there anything that can be improved upon?

The majority of the time it’s absolutely brilliant, there are no issues. It depends on what racecourse you go to I suppose. We generally have nine or 10 lads with us and you only get four meal vouchers. They don’t cater for everyone in the syndicate. It’s only a small thing to ask I suppose. I don’t want to make a big thing out of it but I’m the agent for the syndicate so the lads come to me and I have to tell them that we only got four meal vouchers. It would be a nice gesture if that was changed going forward.