IT was less than five years ago that the Irish National Stud Thoroughbred Management Course class of 2016 graduated. Yet, in that short space of time, many of the alumni have already shown the type of form to suggest that it was an exceptional group.

Back in February of this year, the opening presentation at the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association National Awards was the ITBA Next Generation accolade. First given 12 months earlier when Joanne Lavery was a most deserving recipient, the second winner was a young woman who already has become a face and voice of our industry.

The 2021 winner was Clare Manning, a lady who possesses the pedigree of someone set for high achievement, and she has certainly hit the ground running. From selling sale toppers to being responsible for stakes performers, she has rarely been out of the limelight in recent years, and there is no doubt, after speaking with her, that she continues to raise the bar for herself in terms of what she wants to do with her burgeoning career.

For someone in her twenties, Clare has already packed a great deal into her young life, and six of the best months of that from a professional point of view was the period from January to June 2016 when she roomed with Amy Marnane at Tully. Her close ally has also gone on to make her own mark in the industry, and they are just two of the trailblazers from their particular year.

This week, returning from an evening racing at Gowran Park, Clare told me about that time. “We had the best craic for six months, the two of us. It was brilliant.”

Clare came back from a year in Kentucky to do the INS course, and she is fulsome in her praise and appreciation for the time she spent with her 25 classmates. “The year in Kentucky and the six months at the National Stud – if I could do those 18 months on repeat, I would, hands down, do it all the time.”

Great fun

Some idea of the great fun she had, and the enjoyment got, at Tully was gleaned when at the hugely enjoyable occasion of the graduation ceremony, the evening was brought to a close when Amy Marnane sang the beautiful Scottish folk ballad Caledonia, resulting in a well-deserved standing ovation.

Clare is the first to admit that the reason for doing the INS course was in the hope of what she saw at the time as a greater goal, getting on the Godolphin Flying Start Programme. She explained: “To be honest, I went to college and did a year of equine science at UL. I didn’t really have much interest in college and absolutely hated it.

“I wanted to do Flying Start, and that is academic-based. However, I knew they took on a few from the National Stud course. I was trying to cut corners and ‘sneak in’, and I did get an interview for Flying Start. While I was disappointed at first not to get on, in hindsight I am so glad I did the National Stud course.”

While Clare was working in Kentucky she met a good few graduates of the INS course, and it was there that she made the decision to apply for it. “The more of these graduates I met, the more I realised that it sounded as though it would be beneficial. Let’s call a spade a spade, I knew it would be good craic. Everyone that had done it were friends for life.

“You are working with likeminded people and they are your own age. It was everything I hoped it would be, and when we graduated we were asking could we stay on the course and come back and repeat it,” she says with a broad smile.

She doesn’t hesitate when asked about the best part of the course. “On the working end of things it was the opportunity to handle the stallions. You are dealing with top-class sires, the likes of Invincible Spirit. You get to be part of the team in the covering shed, which is not something you get to do everywhere, and it is unique in that sense. Then, on the more personal end, the friends you make are friends for life.”

Boherguy Stud

That camaraderie and support has already proven to be invaluable to Clare, especially since she took on the running of Boherguy Stud. All but five of the 26 students on her year were Irish or British, and so she gets to meet with many of them time and again at the sales, but she also says that they are always at the end of a telephone. Indeed, she refers to the class members, on more than one occasion, as family.

Many of the visits Clare and her classmates made during the course were memorable. “Going to see Coolmore and having a trip to Ballydoyle are places you don’t get into too often. The visit to Ballylinch and hearing from John O’Connor was special. For a massively busy man like him to take time out and give us so much attention showed that he has an interest in young people in this industry, and cares about them. We need people to foster the next generation and to guide them.”

Another special moment was to have a visit with Clare’s grandad, Jim Bolger. She said: “it was nice to be able to showcase the family place and what we do. Seeing grandad sit down and, like John O’Connor, take an interest in the students was lovely. Afterwards he rang me to ask about certain students and their plans, and two from my year went on to work at Glebe House. Again, it’s back to the industry leaders giving young people a chance.”

Japan visit

One of the lecturers that year was Paca Paca Farm’s Harry Sweeney, and this led to Clare spending some time in Japan, prepping for the yearling sale, an experience she describes as “unbelievable”. This is the one part of her work, which embraces all aspects of stud activities, that Clare still loves the best. She said: “I absolutely adore yearling-prep; it is my all-time favourite time of the year.”

She added further experience, before going out on her own, with Baroda Stud and Arrowfield in Australia. Clare’s mum and dad, Úna and Kevin, encouraged her to travel and see the world. It could be argued that having her family connections was a great leg-up for Clare, but she doesn’t see it that way.

“I very much wanted to stand on my own two feet. The family connections have made me work harder. I didn’t want people to say, ‘oh, she’s Jim Bolger’s granddaughter and that’s how she got on the National Stud course’. I wanted them to say ‘yeah, she’s Jim Bolger’s granddaughter but she’s a good, hard worker.

“So it has actually made me work harder and make my own name in the industry. I am very lucky to have the support and backing of my family. Without a shadow of a doubt it’s a help, but it can be a hindrance at time because people think you get handed things on a plate. I never wanted that, and I always wanted to prove that I’m my own person.”

Sally Carroll

In the week after her father and grandfather combined to win the 2000 Guineas with her grandmother’s Poetic Flare, Clare is over the moon with the victory and what it means. Yet, she is always seeing a bigger picture, and keen to mention someone who played a big role during her time at Tully.

“The one other person I have to give a massive mention to is Sally Carroll. I know she’s not there anymore, but she was the backbone. I remember coming on a Sunday evening at nine o’clock and Sally was standing there making sure everyone was okay. Who does that at nine o’clock on a Sunday night? She was absolutely stellar and kept us all in line.

“She was a mammy without over-mammying us, and made us stand on our own two feet. She was always looking out for us.”