SOME of my earliest memories are of point-to-pointing with Dad when I was a small boy and he was race riding. In those days, he was riding out for Ian Duncan, Ian Ferguson and later Colin McKeever. I would have been in and out of those yards with him all the time. Dad would have ridden in both point-to-points, hunter chases and bumpers as an amateur.

I have great memories as a small boy sitting in the weigh tent at point-to-points with Enda Bolger, J.T. McNamara and Tony Martin, and overhearing stories and the craic between them all.

In those days the Champion Hunter Chase was run at Leopardstown after the Irish Gold Cup. In 1999, Dad rode Captain Brandy the same year Florida Pearl won the big race with Richard Dunwoody on board. He signed the racecard for me on the Hunter Chase next to Dad’s name. I still have that at home and treasure it because it’s a lovely part of history.

I also got a signature from Norman Williamson that same afternoon. Years later, his son Josh rode Winged Leader to win a point-to-point for us. It’s funny how the wheel comes full circle.

Dad is originally from Co Antrim. We moved to Fermanagh in 1997, when he became Farm Manager at CAFRE. He would have been heavily involved in the equine side of the farm and set up the racing club there.

As a young boy, I would have gone to the races with the students when the college mini buses were on the go.

I was 17 when we moved to our current place in Derrylin. It was a dairy farm when Mum and Dad bought it, so we had to start from scratch. It was all done in one summer; which I still find quite remarkable. I learned how to ride a little when I was quite young but that would have been the extent of it. Mum and Dad would have encouraged me to head away and try new things and not necessarily to take a career in racing.

I went away to Scotland when I was 18 and was gone for 10 years. After graduating with a degree in Product Design and Engineering from Edinburgh University, I went on to work for Royal Bank Of Scotland. Based in Head Office, I got the bug to get involved in horses again and was wanting to get back out in the fresh air. I started riding out every Saturday morning for trainer Nick Alexander, who is based in Kinross.

Family-run business

It was a great place to work - a small family-run business that reminded me of home. Nick’s daughter Lucy was a professional jockey at the time, while his son Kit, rode as an amateur. I came to enjoy it so much that I ended up leaving RBS and went full-time with Nick. I did that for a year and a half, before I came home in 2016.

Like most trainers, Dad was struggling to get staff. I had a decision to make - stay doing the same thing for Nick or come back to Dad. After deciding to come home, I was basically just helping out in the yard. For the first couple of years, it was just the two of us and, we had around 12 horses in training. They would all have been for point-to-points; we had very few hunter chasers at that time.

I remember when Dad acquired Darwins Fox from Henry de Bromhead. He was a highly rated chaser - I’d go so far as to say that he formed the blueprint of what came afterwards. Dad was looking to buy a nicer type of horse that we could aim at some of the bigger meetings. We have been lucky with horses out of Henry’s over the years. He was the first horse that we had for owner David Maxwell.

I used to hop into the two box and just travel over on my own to the UK with the horse whenever he raced. He won a couple of hunter chases at Leicester and Fontwell. He also ran a great race in the Foxhunters’ at Aintree. In the years that followed, we got some nice horses for hunter chases and open lightweights.

Eddies Miracle and Some Man both won 11 races each, while Winged Leader won 37 point-to-points and, four hunter chases. Breaking a point-to-point winning record that stood for nearly 70 years meant a great deal to everyone involved and especially to us as a family.

In 2018, I took part in the Corinthian Challenge Series for the IIJ Association. In the final race of the series at Leopardstown, I rode our own Eddies Miracle to finish third over 10 furlongs for Dad at a price of 33/1. It was a great buzz and for a good cause. I know a few of our owners backed him. It just shows how versatile a horse he was.

Biggest achievements

People often ask me about achievements with Dad and what I am most proud of. For us, as a small business, I believe that staying in business is our biggest achievement. Over the years we have lost some top horses and, shortly after I came home, one of best owners passed away. To overcome all those setbacks and still be here is testimony to our hard work and dedication.

On the racecourse, one day in particular stands out for me. In May 2022, Vaucelet won the Champion Hunter Chase at Stratford and, Ask D Man won the Champion Novice Hunter Chase half an hour earlier. Winning back-to-back hunter chases was special and it had never been done before at their big end of season meeting. For an Irish trainer to go over and do it was extra special.

We have between 25-30 horses every season. It’s more or less divided between point-to-point horses and hunter chasers. A few years back, Dad started buying horses with good point-to-point placed form with the intention of developing them into hunter chasers. Winged Leader, who we bought as a five-year-old, has been the standout amongst these.

With the exception of him, most of the horses in the yard at the minute are young, unexposed five and, six-year-olds. Dad has been taking a small step back over the last couple of years, while I’ve taken on more responsibility.

We have discussed the possibility of me joining him on the licence or, even taking it over on my own. I could well end up taking over without even really knowing it!

Dad has been fantastic and to be honest, a lot of the kick I get out of winning is because we are accomplishing it together as father and son. He is a great man to learn from, hard but fair. You always have to keep your eyes and ears open around him.

The last 10 years have been a wonderful education and hopefully there is much to look forward to in the coming decade.

David was in conversation with John O’Riordan.