DOING anything special on Sunday evening? Thought not.
Why not sign up to the free thoroughbred breeding webinar being organised by Jack Cantillon?
Broadcasting from the family’s Tinnakill House in Mountrath, Co Laois, Jack has signed up 600 people for his four-week Art Of Mating online course. The first two classes saw pedigree experts discuss possible covering plans for selected mares and field questions from the ‘students’, who were then assigned homework.
It seems every few months Jack presents the industry with an original idea, all of which aim to bring more people into racing and bloodstock.
Previous brainwaves from the London-based lawyer who is also an owner, breeder and pinhooker, include selling a horse through Bitcoin, fundraising for cancer research by buying a racehorse, and setting up a syndicate through WhatsApp which ended up winning the Munster National.
Explaining the thinking behind his latest innovation, Jack said: “A lot of people are looking for a distraction at the moment and I had seen [on social media] a few people asking about bloodstock and wanting to understand more. I am privileged enough to know some talented people in the industry, so I thought I would invite them to be panellists on an online forum.”
In week one, Jack conscripted Alan Porter of Pedigree Consultants and Fiona Craig of Moyglare Stud to suggest mating plans for top-class mares Enable, Midnight Bisou and Deirdre. The experts also inspected the covering suggestions made by the 250 people who sent in their assignments. The one-hour chat was subsequently uploaded to YouTube and has been viewed over 2,500 times.
Week two saw the online classroom asked to come up with matings for three commercial mares purchased by the Cantillons at the December Sales. Cathal Beale of the Irish National Stud and trainer Joseph O’Brien joined the webinar to give their assessments, while Jack’s father Dermot made a guest appearance from another room in the house. You could not help but learn something by watching.
Jack added: “There are no wrong or right answers. It’s all about the process and allowing people to learn how the bloodstock industry works. Some people spent hours choosing the stallions and giving their reasons. One woman told us she wouldn’t breed from any of the mares we had bought as none of them were commercial! Time will tell if she was right.”
This Sunday the topic is conformation, which is not an easy concept to discuss online but no doubt Jack will come up with a creative solution. “I am using Zoom Webinar, which is not cheap but is a very good service. It allows me to put myself and the panellists on screen. Only they can be heard. I can also show slides and I can see the questions coming in from those watching and I put as many of them as time allows to the panellists.”
Jack’s Syndicates.Racing has already tasted big-race success and there are tentative plans to launch a bloodstock equivalent in the future. Based on Jack’s form figures, that venture will be well worth a punt.
Web: bloodstock.racing