You’ve been at Tattersalls for 14 years, so you’re certainly no stranger to the industry at this stage, but how did you get into the game initially?

My father was a solicitor and, with my mum, ran a legal firm in Kent. But my mum loved horses, all animals, and they were always part of my life growing up.

I grew up doing pony club, tetrathlon, and then I got into eventing and that really kicked into overdrive in my teens; I became slightly obsessed with it and decided that I was going to be an event rider.

I think it’s the same whether it’s racing or eventing or any horse sport, the good horses find you. I had a really good horse called Political Trump, and he took us to places we never thought we could go. I had a couple of rides round Burghley and a ride around Badminton, and it was a great experience.

But during that time, I worked for a horse dealer called Vere Phillipps to develop my skills and it was with him that I learnt about bloodstock. He produced stores for the likes of the Derby Sale.

As I was getting to the end of my time eventing in my early 20s, I pivoted to thinking about having a career in bloodstock. It was incredibly naïve - I basically had followed Sea The Stars the summer that he was racing, and I just thought, wow, what a sport!

I really got the bug, and from there, I just started to try and meet people that might be able to introduce me to the business. I think to the industry’s credit, there’s a lot of people that want to help, and I had lots of people pointing me in the right direction.

The Godolphin Flying Start was a great opportunity and I spent two years making great friends and getting a formal business education, which I’d never had other than university. I travelled the world, which I had been unable to do previously because I was eventing the whole time, and then importantly gained that international perspective.

You’ve been a senior figure at Tattersalls before becoming Managing Director last November. How big a change has your new role been?

No, I was very open minded, and I was prepared to grasp any opportunity wherever it appeared and I would pick up my suitcase and travel if needed. Actually, that sense of adventure was almost part of the appeal.

As part of the course, you do your placements, and I spent time with the likes of Kieran McLaughlin, who was Godolphin’s trainer at the time in New York, and Peter Snowden in Sydney.

I met Edmond (Mahony) when I first came to Park Paddocks, as well as Martin Mitchell, who was the Bloodstock Director at the time. I kept in contact with them, and then it was halfway through the course, that a role at Tattersalls was advertised, and it just felt like a good fit. I actually did my final placement at Tattersalls, so I pretty much started the next day, and 14 years later, here I am.

You’ve been a senior figure at Tattersalls before progressing to the role of managing director. How big a change has it been?

It has been a step up. For more than 30 years, Edmond had been chairman, and the managing director was essentially combined within that role. As part of the next step within Tattersalls, it was decided to separate those duties, so that I took on the day-to-day operations as part of being managing director, whilst Edmond took a step back has remained as chairman.

I’ve been lucky that through my 14 years, I have taken on many different tasks. In 2019, I took over the running of the Tattersalls Cheltenham and what was then the Ascot sales. It was like running a mini sales company, so that management experience was incredible at the time.

There were lessons learnt there that stood me in good stead. More recently I also had a seat on the Tattersalls Ireland board, which gave me the opportunity to learn that side of the business. I then became an associate director along with the likes of Harvey (Bell) and Jason (Singh), who also came on the board at that time, with Tammy O’Brien.

So, there had been transitions to this point, but then equally, in January when the role commenced, it was a new view, let’s say.

No year is the same in bloodstock - in fact, you could perhaps go as far as saying no two weeks are the same. What challenges and opportunities do Tattersalls face in 2026?

I think we’ve got to acknowledge that there’s a degree of continued uncertainty regarding, the conflict with Iran and the potential consequences and knock-on impact within the region, but then also the global economy as well.

None of us know how that’s going to be borne out. Domestically in Britain, we currently do have challenges in terms of the current government and its approach, whether that be affordability checks and their general view of gambling, or their policy of high taxation on businesses and high net worth individuals. For a sport that is seeking to encourage both domestic and international investment, it certainly doesn’t help.

I think it’s an incredibly resilient business in terms of the people that operate within it, who are incredibly skilful in what they do.

There’s always innovation and the market keeps moving; it never stands still.

So, what do we do here, how do we see opportunities? Both in Ireland and the UK, we continue to invest in Park Paddocks, in Fairyhouse, in the sites themselves, and also in the digital infrastructure and the online sales.

With the recent string of negatives for British racing, be it affordability checks, the government or racecourses, do you sometimes feel like tearing your hair out with what’s going on, or are you generally an optimistic person?

I think to be in this business, you do have to be an optimist. Every industry has its ups and downs and challenges, and I did think it was a real positive that Simon Cox was announced as chair of the BHA.

I have sat on the TBA (Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association) Board as a trustee with Simon for the last few years, and he is someone that has got great corporate experience, but also outside of that, he’s passionate about the business. He races, he breeds and knowing the person that he is, I think he was a really positive announcement and I look forward to seeing how that develops.

In the broader picture, I think we are quite good as an industry at knocking ourselves a little bit as well, and we’ve got to remember that having seen the likes of the Epsom Derby, the Royal Ascot meeting, Glorious Goodwood, that there are some really good news stories to tell.

The crowds are there in numbers and I think as a spectacle, the sport continues to deliver. We’ve got some really good new household names; the likes of George Boughey and Billy Loughnane coming to the fore with Bow Echo has been a really good story, and I think if we can tell those stories, there’s lots of room for optimism in terms of how we package the sport and promote it. So, I’m an optimist on that front.

How has the current environment shaped Tattersalls’ approach to the selection process for the 2026 yearling sales, or do you generally follow the same process each year?

Format wise, the sales have largely stayed the same as they are in terms of the number of places available. I think even in the 14 years I’ve been here, it has always been our policy and something we’re proud to do is that we aim to offer a place to every horse we see within reason across the group, and that remains the case.

Within that, you’re just trying to maximize where those horses are going to be best placed, meaning where they’re going to make the best returns for the vendor and also to place the horses that buyers expect to see when they come to each particular sale.

We’re particularly pleased with Books 1 and 2 again this year – and we are grateful to the breeders and consignors have really delivered a catalogue of quality of note and depth, and I think that gives us real cause for optimism coming into the autumn.

Speaking to Simon (Kerins) and the team in Tattersalls Ireland, the September Yearling Sale seems to have made another real step forward, and that seems to be a sign of recent times. That sale and the breeze-up sale are really carving out an identity, and the Sapphire Sale took a good positive step last year, too.

Both of those sales have benefitted from a strong presence of European buyers, particularly from Italy and Eastern Europe. How big an issue has Brexit been for Tattersalls, and do you see any remedy to the problem?

I think any barrier to trade is never welcome and I think it’s also fair to say that Brexit aside, the cost of things has just gone up in general - the cost of shipping and fuel have gone up, so that also plays a part. I think those lower and middle parts of the market have probably also slightly suffered from a drop in the domestic demand, which is a result of poor prize money and the current government’s policies.

We try to facilitate the market as much as we can. There are things you can do and there are things you can’t affect. We endeavour with our overseas rep to work all year round promoting those sales, whilst continue to offer the inward buyer schemes. We just make sure that we continue to attract buyers, not just from Europe, but across the across the world.

From your interactions with British breeders, how would you describe the health of the British breeding scene at the moment?

As I sit as a trustee on the TBA, I’m very close to this. I think it’s fair to say that the drop in foal crops is not just in Great Britain, but also in Ireland as well. I think you’re seeing that initially in the lower end of that commercial market and the contraction in those particular sales.

Foal crops have fluctuated over time; that’s nothing new, but we’re working with the TBA to look at ways in which we can assist them. I think the GBB bonus scheme has been a really good, positive scheme and has really helped the market for fillies. We look at sponsorships and bonus payments, and in the last few years there’s been the high-value maiden series.

I think this comes back to prize money at the end of the day, and so that’s where we’re trying to contribute and try to incentivise people to race and to buy, which hopefully drives the demand for people to breed.

Is there a new or emerging market that your team is pursuing?

Promotion of these sales starts immediately after last year’s sale. Our teams in the UK and Ireland, along with our overseas reps, keep in touch with buyers throughout the year. I think the growth of the American market has been a hallmark of the last decade of sales, particularly at Park Paddocks. As their turf programme has increased, the likes of Chad Brown and Mike Ryan really paved the way there in terms of recruiting horses from the October Yearling Sales and Book 1.

Fortunately, it’s a success-driven business, and they had great success with the likes of Newspaperofrecord, and more and more Americans have come back in numbers. Certainly, based on our trips with Joe Miller, Lincoln Collins and the team, there have been really positive bookings for another strong contingent from America coming in again.

This year, with the likes of Title Role, Survie and Portfolio Duration who have been Grade 1 winners on the turf over there, and whilst we’re out there promoting the sales, they’re the horses that capture people’s attention and encourage buyers to come back.

Belmont Park is opening up with its new redevelopment and as part of that, they’ve got a synthetic track, so I think horses in training are going to hold appeal, particularly at our Autumn Horses in Training Sales.

How do you see the 2026 yearling sales faring?

I think it is difficult to predict, but I think the Arqana August Sale gives everyone optimism, in that it certainly looks like the appeal of the top-end bloodstock remains on an international level.

At the end of the day, no economy, no market is immune to wider pressures. As sales houses, we endeavour to do our best to bring together the best catalogue we can, promote it as best we can to an overseas and domestic marketplace, but ultimately, we don’t set that market condition.

Looking ahead, based on the catalogues we’ve put together, the great work everyone’s done overseas and the feedback we’re getting, we’re cautiously optimistic in terms of where we are. We’ve still got another six weeks until October, and we’re working overtime to really drive things forward and deliver the best sale we can for everyone.

What do you see as the strongest sector of the market at the moment?

I don’t necessarily see it as sector; I just think you see this trend that the very top end of whatever sale and whatever market is where people are focusing in on. I suspect that breeders are taking a view on their broodmare band and making sure that they are breeding horses for the likes of Books 1 and 2 - that’s what their goal is. I think that, as a result, the market for older or more exposed mares has definitely suffered of late, and we’re seeing reduced demand for those mares both domestically and internationally.

During inspections, have you been impressed by any first-crop sires in particular?

The inspections are one of my favourite parts of the job, I love getting out there in the springtime. I do a lot of inspections in the UK, so that’s probably shaped the horses that I’ve seen, but probably the standouts, particularly coming to the likes of Book 1, are Chaldean and Modern Games. They shaped well in the spring, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they come to hand in the autumn.

For me, it’s quite exciting in the autumn, because I get to see more of those Irish and French-based stallions that I might not have seen and get a better assessment of the crop.

I think that’s what makes the sales so exciting - the dream is still alive for all those yearlings. Do you get a buzz before a sale, or is it purely pressure for you?

You feel great pressure. You feel the pressure as people have sent you their best, and you want to deliver for them, and you want to deliver a group of horses that buyers have come to expect as well. But at the end of the day, I love seeing the stock and I love following their progress on the track.

The great thing about our business is that good horses come from anywhere, and good stallions can come from anywhere as well. That’s the beauty of our business, I think.

Horses have a great way of lifting you up - I’m sure the Tattersalls graduates have been a nice distraction from any of those challenges we discussed earlier!

Ombudsman has been a great flagship horse for Tatts, and particularly the October Yearling Sales. He’s currently the world’s highest-rated racehorse. This year, the tagline on our advert is ‘expect the exceptional’ and, on the advert, you’ve got him, Venetian Sun, Estrange, Maltese Cross and Christmas Day - and Christmas Day led home a 1-2-3-4-5 in the Epsom Derby for Tattersalls.

They’ve flown the flag and that’s very important, particularly as you come into the autumn. People can come to us expecting to see the best on offer and know that, within that catalogue, there’s hopefully the next champion on the horizon.

Some of those graduates are also boosting the appeal of siblings being offered at upcoming sales too, I’m sure?

Many are coming back with full or half-siblings again, and looking at the Book 1 catalogue this year, there’s strength and depth in numbers. I think 19 of the top 20 stallions are represented - Wootton Bassett, Sea The Stars, Lope De Vega, Night Of Thunder, Frankel. That’s what that top end of the market is wanting to come and see.

I think we’ve got 44 relations to Group 1 or classic winners within the catalogue itself, so I’m super excited, I can’t wait to get into it later in the year.