Meath man Noel Leonard is part of the Royal Racing Club who had great success last Friday when their horse Razdan won at Downpatrick. He has also been involved in some lovely horses in the past such as Mydor and Lustown Baba.

How did you get interested in racing?

I started off working in a stud farm for a man called A.L. Hawkins. He bred a lot of good horses. I was part of the team that helped break them at the time as a young lad. He had horses with the late Paddy Prendergast. There was a mare called Answer Me and another named Royal Duchy and both of those horses won the ‘1500’ at Phoenix Park. I was there those days; that was a fantastic experience to have as a young lad and I became interested fairly young due to that.

How did you get into ownership?

We were watching one of the racing festivals and backing a few horses and a fellah asked me if I would be interested in joining a syndicate. We had a horse named Yazzgal, trained by Liam Kavanagh. Liam trained in Bracetown in Dunboyne. Eventually, it won at Dundalk at the old track and that was the first horse that I could claim to have been involved in that won.

How did the Royal Racing Club come about?

Chris Timmons, who is a local lad here in Dunboyne, got a few people together and formed the club. They asked me would I like to join and it has been brilliant. Chris is an excellent trainer and his facilities are second to none. He is doing a marvellous job. There are quite a few involved in the club and you meet new people every time we go racing. It’s very social. Outside of that, I’m also involved in another syndicate, The Future Stars, with a horse named Pearl Jewel who is running at Cork soon.

You were involved with a lovely horse named Mydor who won over €50k in prize money. Tell us a bit about him.

I’m sitting here looking at a photo of him in my sitting room! We had a great time with him and Tony Martin did a fantastic job with him. He won at Tipperary for us in some of the first runs that he had for us. He won for us at our local track at Fairyhouse as well, which was fantastic. Peter Roe said that he was absolutely delighted that it was a local winner. He won at Leopardstown as well.

We also leased a successful mare named Lustown Baba. Kit Toole was behind the name there, he was very proud of the fact that there was a horse called after his home place. She won a good few quid for us at the Curragh. She was trained by Willie McCreery and we had special days with her as well. It was fantastic, given my background as a kid working in the industry, to have a winner at the Curragh. It was quite special.

So tell us about Razdan. What were the confidence levels like going into the race at Downpatrick last week?

Chris thought he would run very well. The horse was in good form. I saw him in the parade ring and knew that today was our day. The horse looked immaculate. There was a lovely gleam off him and he was on his toes the whole way around the ring. He was the same on the last day that he won. I was confident that he would be there or thereabouts. He was raring to go and he really was owning the parade ring. He loves racing and he loves a battle. The battle coming up the inside on the straight made him kick on and he responded well.

I presume you had great celebrations after?

There is no doubt about it. The celebrations are just fantastic. The buzz of it all is unreal. Downpatrick was packed and the reception we got after was lovely. To have a winner and to come back to your local and have a few pints to celebrate, there is nothing like it. Everyone puts out their hand and congratulates you and tells you they backed it. I said to my grandson, John, later on last Friday, ‘if everyone who told me they backed it actually backed it, Paddy Power is gone!’ It’s a bit like the G.P.O. for the Easter Rising, everyone’s grandfather was there! I do know genuinely though quite a few made a few quid. For someone like myself at this stage of my life, to get a buzz like that is incredible.

You have been involved in horses for quite some time now. In terms of the ownership experience on race day, have you seen improvements over the years?

It certainly has improved leaps and bounds over the last 10 years and it’s fantastic to see. It is more accessible for the smaller owner. When I started going racing years ago, it was in the age of hat-tipping and there was ‘us and them’ and you were on the outside. Those days are gone now. When we had Mydor, he was entered in the Pertemps at Cheltenham. He was the first reserve and didn’t get in. We went just in case he might and we got into the owners and trainers’ enclosure. I was rubbing shoulders with all the big owners and had great craic with Rich Ricci. I was asking him about his name because I had always assumed it was just a nickname. After all, he is rich! He clarified that Rich is his actual name! To rub shoulders with the likes of those lads is fantastic. It used to be the sport of kings but now it is for everyone.

What is one bit of advice that you would have for someone who is looking to get involved in ownership?

I would say get your own money together and buy your own horse. I probably would not go down the leasing route again. Get a few lads together and start paying in. Go to the likes of Chris Timmons because the job he is doing is second to none. Anyone local here in Dunboyne who wants advice on it don’t be afraid to come to me and ask me for advice and I’ll advise you on setting it up. Horse Racing Ireland is also very supportive. All you have to do is go to them and they will point you in the right direction.