Micheál Conaghan is the owner of Evergreen Bloodstock, which came to prominence a year ago when winning the Goffs Land Rover Bumper at Punchestown with Absolute Notions and then selling him for €370,000 at the Goffs Punchestown Sale.

How did you got involved in racing and bloodstock?

My grandparents had a couple of broodmares and that’s how I got involved. They started me out with ponies in national school. After a couple of years, I started riding out for a few yards.

I then gradually started buying foals, yearlings and two-year-olds for National Hunt. Mainly I stuck to buying foals. I sell the National Hunt ones at the three-year-old sales and the flat foals at the yearling sales.

What advice would you give to somebody else who wanted to get involved in bloodstock professionally?

I suppose just to work hard. It’s a small industry so try to keep on good terms with everyone. Make as many friends and contacts as you can.

You should work in as many yards as possible. Any of the places I worked I always met good people that gave me advice. It’s about picking up as much information from as many different sources as possible.

What challenges/problems have you faced in your career?

Starting out is difficult. You just have to stick with it. Back when I was starting, I couldn’t afford to buy really good horses. You just had to try and get value by buying the best that you could afford. If you’re not coming from a racing background you have to kind of forge your own path and that can be challenging.

Who has helped you along the way or given you advice?

Most recently, I was with John Foley, just up the road from me here. I learned a lot from John. I was over in America for a little while and met loads of really good people. It was interesting to see how they go about their business; they would use very different methods than we would.

I worked in Yeomanstown with Gay, David, and Robert O’Callaghan. That was a brilliant experience. They are the best at preparing yearlings for sale. I learned an awful lot from them.

What are your hopes for the year?

To try and do as good, if not better, than last year. To try and get a couple of young nice racehorses. We want to keep the standards high and sell to the best of our ability.

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