How did you get into racehorse ownership?

I have been interested in horse racing most of my life, been backing horses as far back as I can remember. I worked in several bookmakers over the years also. A good few years back, in what used to be our local pub, we got a syndicate together and purchased a horse which ran a good few times but didn’t work out. That was my first taste of ownership and going to tracks as an owner.

About three years ago a friend of mine asked me to get involved with another young horse and I didn’t have to think twice. Leac An Scail Lady won her point as a four-year-old and won a maiden hurdle last year at Killarney and is still racing with success, trained by Henry de Bromhead.

Onto this Kells Priory and the Bulls Eye Syndicate. We are a bunch of friends, six from Kilkenny, one from Cork, one from Tipperary, one from Limerick and one from Carlow. The majority of us know each other through playing darts so we decided to invest in another horse together. Syndicate members are Tony Brennan. Mick Barco, Joey Ronan, Stephen Ferrissey, Hugh Finnerty, Michael Bracken, Brendan Grace, Colm Parsons, Liam O’Donovan and myself.

Our first horse with a different trainer didn’t work out unfortunately. So we approached Louise Lyons and Nicky Teehan as they were friends of mine over the years and were having success with their string. Nicky showed us several horses and we narrowed it down to two, of which the one we didn’t go for won first time out! Typical.

We decided on Kells Priory as he had shown some form previously and is a young horse with potential and that was what as a syndicate we were looking for, i.e., a horse ready to run.

What was your best day at the races and why?

Without a doubt Gowran Park on January 27th, 2022. It was an unbelievable day especially having our first winner together as a group and with Louise Lyons. Gowran Park put on an amazing day for everybody. We have been at a lot of racecourses around the country and it was by far the best I have attended. Obviously having a winner was the cherry on top.

What is the biggest drawback about being a racehorse owner?

It has to be the cost of owning and racing. I couldn’t afford to be in the game without a syndicate.

In your experience, which racecourse in Ireland treats owners the best and why?

I haven’t been to them all but have had great days at Gowran Park. Killarney. Leopardstown, the Curragh and Fairyhouse.

On the whole tracks look after owners well nowadays.

Flat or jump racing, which do you prefer and why?

I go flat racing but jumps are my first preference.

What qualities do you look for in a trainer?

Louise competed at eventing at the Olympics so she obviously has a lot of knowledge about how to get horses jumping properly and getting them to settle.

Nicky takes care of bringing the horses to different gallops to keep them interested and show them something different instead of the normal day-to-day routine in the yard. He drives the horses to and from the races and point-to-point tracks also and it seems to work very well for them.

How do you think the current crisis will impact on racing in general and on ownership in particular?

I think ownership figures will stay healthy with all the success of Irish horses as long as it stays affordable for everyone.

What can trainers or HRI do to encourage owners to keep horses in training at the moment?

Communication is key in my opinion and I have to say Louise and Nicky have been excellent keeping us up to date. They have various ways of keeping in touch from ringing myself and sending WhatsApp videos of when the horse is galloping or jumping a few flights either at home or on another gallop. We have a WhatsApp syndicate group where I post everything up for the lads to view and speak about.

I think at this stage nearly everyone has visited the yard and the Louise and Nicky are very welcoming.

What significance do your colours hold?

No real significance - we choose what was available and what we liked.

When buying a horse, what do you look for?

I have no real expertise in this at all so we were totally reliant on Louise’s advice and input and it was 100%.

What’s next on the agenda for your horse?

Hopefully another trip to Gowran on Red Mills day which has been spoken of but we will leave everything to Louise and Nicky to decide - and another win. If not at Gowran - anywhere!

What do you do with your racehorses when their racing days are over?

I would imagine if it came to it, Louise and Nicky would be able to keep Kells if he was still in the yard but he’s a very young horse at the moment and hopefully keeps racing for some time.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming a racehorse owner?

Be very careful who you set up a racing syndicate or club with. Explain the cost and what’s involved to everyone in detail and most important of all choose your trainer very carefully.

John Roche was in conversation with Olivia Hamilton