Robert grew up very close to the Curragh but has spent most of his life in Asia. His family set up the Connolly Racing Syndicate to continue its proud Irish racing tradition.

How did you get interested in racing?

My family have been involved in horse racing my whole life. I grew up very close to the Curragh. My grandfather used to train horses. We moved to Macau when I was young. My dad, Kevin, continued working with horses there and then in Australia and in China. We have always been involved, just not necessarily in Ireland. When my dad retired from his full-time job, we had a discussion in the family and considered moving slowly into ownership. We wanted to bring the operation back to our heritage in Ireland. We made a decision to start the Connolly Racing Syndicate a year and a half ago and so far it’s worked out amazingly.

You had a fantastic win in the Goffs Million last Saturday, How confident were you before the race?

We definitely weren’t confident. We knew we had a very good horse, but the thought of winning the race wasn’t in our minds. We internally discussed that we would be really happy with a top six finish. We also knew that we had a special horse on our hands. We would have run her earlier but for a little setback earlier in the year. It was also hard to see anyone beating Cherry Blossom, we were just happy to be there to take part.

She took off like a rocket towards the end of the race and won very well.

It was insane. She showed incredible speed. We were blown away. Right after the race my uncle John, who is our syndicate manager, waved over to me signalling to start running to the parade ring. We were full of adrenaline. It was just pure madness.

Have you discussed what is on the agenda for her next? I see she has an Irish 1000 Guineas entry now for next year.

Yeah, that seems to be the plan at the moment. We are not looking too far into the future at the moment. She is going to get a rest now for the winter. We have full faith in Paddy Twomey. He has advised us so well already so we will trust in the process and in the plan that he sets out for her.

Now that you mention him, how did the relationship between yourselves and Paddy form?

It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with him from the beginning. His communication skills are excellent. He was always on the radar for us. Funnily enough, when I was in Ireland last year I was on a small holiday with my aunty and uncle. My uncle Paul Ennis follows racing a lot. We were in Dunmore East, Paul saw Paddy Twomey in the corner of his eye and said ‘Is that Paddy Twomey over there?’ He told me how much he liked Paddy as a trainer. Then when I got on a call with my dad he told me that Paddy was definitely on the shortlist for training our horses. The stars aligned and we ended up sending two horses his way.

Did you have a look at the Orby Sale this year? Have you reinvested?

On the race weekend, we were very much thinking that we would. But we started the syndicate with a two-year plan. That was to go to the sales last year and then, two years later, reconsider and see if we want to go again. As much as we wanted to go the sales this year it just felt a bit rushed. So we decided against it. We have decided to follow the plan and we will more than likely go again next year rather than this year.

Is there any significance behind the colours of the race syndicate?

Yes, there is. Older racegoers would recognise them from the original Connolly racing colours from back in my grandfather’s time. The only difference is the cap. Instead of the purple checks on the hat, the original colours used to have brown checks. That wasn’t available when we registered the syndicate so we went with purple.

So just tell us a little bit more about how much Irish racing means to your family

Irish racing is such a huge part of our heritage. We can’t wait to be more involved. We want to spread the word of the wonder of Irish racing. It’s a magical experience. People need to experience it more. I brought two of my friends along with me last week, they were in disbelief at the overall event. They said that this kind of event is unmatched. We need to do our part to spread this because it is magical.