The Glamour and Glory Syndicate is an all-female global syndicate which had success at Naas last weekend when Glamorously won the Birdcatcher Premier Nursery.

How did the syndicate start?

Tamso: Amber and I have been lucky to be involved in racing our whole lives. We come from strong racing backgrounds. Amber’s father Edward trains and my parents Paul and Sue were also trainers. We have both been involved in different syndicates at various stages. Over the years people have asked us separately to consider starting a syndicate ourselves. Both of us mulled it over and last year we finally went for it. It all happened quite quickly; we just sent around a few messages to various mutual friends and we pulled it together.

Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland bought two fillies for us, and they are trained by Jessie Harrington and Joseph O’Brien, two great trainers and two excellent communicators, which is important for syndicates. Both fillies - Bonbon and Glamorously - are winners.

Amber: We were kind of lucky as well as we had experience from being in the It’s All About The Girls syndicate. The template for doing something like this was there. So, we decided we would set up another one. We thought that the more women that we can get involved in racing the better. It’s quite a global syndicate as well. We have a lady from New York, we have one in France, a few in England and a good few here in Ireland. We have 40 members in total.

Glamorously’s win in Naas was fantastic, tell us about that day and what it felt like when the filly won.

T: Kate and Jessie Harrington had that race laid out for her for a long time, possibly since May. She didn’t really look like winning at any stage until she crossed the line in front last Saturday. We had a lot of syndicate members there - it was fantastic. The kick that all the ladies got out of it was just incredible.

A: I had sort of forgotten the adrenaline rush you get when you’re at the races and your horse wins. It’s amazing. Afterwards, you are shaking and you can’t believe what’s after happening. You can’t explain that feeling. We both have been so lucky to be involved through our family with amazing winners over the years. But it doesn’t really matter where or what race you win, the feeling of winning a race is just incredible. If you could bottle it and sell it you would be very rich.

So let’s talk about Jessica Harrington. The yard appears to be incredibly well-run and a credit to the team.

T: It’s very much a family-run operation. Jessie, Kate, Emma and Emma’s husband Richie are all involved. The four of them together are a formidable team. They are very welcoming and very good on the communication side. All the team are just brilliant down there. Jessica has been a huge inspiration to women and racing. We have two women in the syndicate who are going through treatment for breast cancer at the moment. The inspiration that Jessica has given them and everyone in the syndicate - with her drive and get-on-with-it attitude has been amazing.

A: They had their open day recently. There was such a large crowd there that day. There were hundreds at it. The feeling that came across from everyone who attended was that while it’s a big operation and an incredibly well-run operation at that, there is a real sense of family within it. I think that is a big appeal for prospective owners. Emma is also in the syndicate as well. She organises all the logistical operations. They are very lucky that all the family are involved and it really works well.

So, Amber tell us about your role as manager of Horse Racing Ireland’s Ownership department. What does that entail?

A: The main goal is to get more people involved in racing. It is a bit like a sales job where you have nothing really to sell. I am pretty much selling the idea of ownership. A lot of it is trying to get trainers and people together because the relationship is between the owner and the trainer really. It’s just putting the idea into people’s heads that if they have disposable income this would be a really fun thing to spend their disposable income on. We are really trying to push the syndicate market here in Ireland because that is the entry point. The other side of it is trying to improve the experience for people who are already involved. Owners breed owners and people who are already involved bring new people into the sport so it’s important to recognise that and make sure that current owners have a good experience.

The HRI open mornings have been a fantastic initiative set up by the HRI in that regard.

A: Yes, they were set up to show people behind the scenes. If you can touch it and feel it then you will want to be a part of it. Any of the trainers who had shares to sell or horses to sell, most of them sold at the open morning directly. You just get that feeling where if you get that connection with the trainer you want to explore that avenue. They have been a great success. We had 16 trainers taking part this year. You can feel the buzz in each of the yards and the staff love doing them. Especially for the smaller yards. It’s a brilliant day and to be able to help them get that many people through their yards is really cool.

Tamso, tell us about your background and Baroda Stud.

T: I pretty much grew up on the gallops and at the races. My parents trained, bred and my dad Paul was a well-known bloodstock agent. We also consigned at the sales when we were in Ballysax, around the time he died.

My husband David Cox took over running Baroda Stud 14 or so years ago. Most of my time is spent working with our clients and growing the business. We have a number of international clients who board their stock with us.

The consigning business has grown hugely over the last five years and we sell up to 600 horses a year. We have about 20-25 staff here who are all incredible. It’s a big operation to keep on top of but it is something we all love and everyone here knows their job.

Is sourcing staff difficult? It’s an issue which is often raised in racing and bloodstock.

T: We have been quite lucky. We have a core team of staff who live locally and have been with us for years. Then we have a team of seasonal staff who have come through the Irish National Stud course, or the Godolphin Flying Start programme, or they are coming from abroad looking for more experience. So we have been really lucky, we have never had much issue getting staff. I think we are quite accessible as a stud farm through our social media.

When you Google ‘stud farms’ we are ranked highly because we are known and also we are one the first listed alphabetically! Our location is fantastic. We have had some great people through here and have a good reputation. All that helps.