How did you get involved in the racing industry?

I don’t really have much of a background in terms of family that was involved. There was a fella local to me that had horses and I took an interest when I was 13 or 14 and it progressed on from there. I worked for BoyleSports for three years after I left school and that’s when my interest grew and I started to understand how to read form and that end of it.

It was a bit later on, once I started to attend race meetings and I saw the more welcoming side of the sport. Speaking to different people at the races and as I got older I started to get chatting to different trainers, and I was in a syndicate with trainer Anthony McCann. That was my introduction to ownership.

How did purchasing Ol Man Dingle come about?

I had two horses and moved them down to Eoin Griffin for him to train them. Within a short space of time, they didn’t work out, and then Eoin contacted me asking if I’d be interested in going to look at a horse. He had sourced him and was trying to get an owner for him. We went down to Harley Dunne’s in Wexford, and within about 10 seconds I knew I was going to buy him. Eoin and I had the same judgement of him, so it worked out well on both ends. From the minute he came out of the stable, and the way he walked up the yard towards myself and the friend that was with me, his stride was great, he had his ears pricked, his confirmation was very good. When he was trotted up, he just struck me as a different type of horse to what I had been dealing with before. His size as well. I thought he’d definitely make a chaser in due course.

What brought you down to Eoin’s?

I had purchased a couple of horses and I was wondering who I’d get to train them. My friend suggested Eoin, and I met him in Downpatrick, and it just kicked off from there. Every horse gets a fair chance at Eoin’s, he gets the maximum out of them. That’s what brought me there in the first place, and keeps me there now. Natalie Bradley looks after Ol Man Dingle, and he’s her pride and joy. It’s people like Natalie, and all of Eoin’s staff doing the work behind the scenes that make these things possible. You hear trainers saying it all the time, but you have to recognise the people that put the hard work in.

Is Ol Man Dingle part of the Dunglen Racing Syndicate, or is he your own?

I initially purchased Ol Man Dingle with an idea of going down the syndicate route. I didn’t plan on spending as much as I did on him for a syndicate. My idea was to spend maybe 10 or 15 thousand, and get maybe five or 10 mates of mine together, but Ol Man Dingle was a lot more expensive, and it wouldn’t have suited everyone to put that amount of money down.

With our other horse Lough Nigara and the Dunglen Racing Syndicate, most of the lads involved are buddies of mine, and none of them, apart from one, have been involved with ownership before. We’ve only started with him in January and it’s been going well so far. We had a great day in Listowel when he finished third, and it was an excuse to get a weekend away as well! It’s introduced them to ownership, and we’ve had a few mornings down at Eoin’s so they’re all enjoying it.

When I decided to start doing the syndicate, I always wanted to introduce new people to the industry, because I didn’t know how to get involved when I was starting out.

What were the confidence levels like heading to Galway?

With Galway, it was really just a starting point for the season ahead. We weren’t expecting to win as such, I was just hoping and praying that he’d jump well and get around maybe to place. There were too many question marks around it with it being his chase debut and first run of the season.

He had a disappointing run towards the back end of last season and he had a long season, and picked up a small issue, so we decided to call time on the season and be patient with him. Looking at Galway, that probably paid off! For a Tuesday afternoon, it was a good crowd. It was just myself and a friend and my parents that went down. It’s been quite a tough month for us, so it was a nice boost.

He jumped very well, and those last two fences come up pretty sharp. His schooling took plenty of work for Eoin and Ricky Doyle, taking him to the Curragh. They put in plenty of work to have him nice and sharp. Ricky’s put a lot of work into him, and he’s a big part of what we do. We take advice from him, and any time myself and Eoin have a discussion, Ricky is part of it.

Have you discussed the next steps?

With his progression, it’s fairly straightforward. Myself and Eoin had a chat last week and discussed, possibly, the Drinmore. If Dingle feels ready for that step up, and Eoin thinks he’s in the right form going into it we could take our chance. Again, it’s a stepping stone, he’s still a young horse and hopefully he could run well. There’s no expectations as such, apart from a good run. It’s unreal that we’re even having the conversation and to have a horse of that calibre.

It’s always been my dream to have a Cheltenham Festival runner. We could have gone last season for the Martin Pipe. We had discussions about a couple of races, but we decided to wait as he’s young and we’d still have options in the future. We’re just taking each run as it comes and we’ll see where we are after Christmas.

You’re a long way off it with Ol Man Dingle, but do you think about retirement options for your horses?

I’m actually building stables at my home at the moment. I have some land here and a couple of grass paddocks. I don’t know what Eoin would be like with Ol Man Dingle, but my idea is to take my horses home when they’re on breaks. Down the line, when we get to the stage of their next career, I’d be looking to take them home then. Myself and Eoin are both very conscious of the horses’ welfare. I just need to get a bit of experience with it before I take a horse of Dingle’s calibre home! Eoin would probably be ringing me every day!