How did you get into the racing industry?

I come from a background in greyhound training. The Bearys had horses in the past. Denis Beary is a relation of mine and a vet up in Kildare. The family always had horses and greyhounds so it’s in the blood, but I only got into the horses a few years ago.

What led to starting the syndicate?

I’m an electrician, and I was doing a few jobs for Eamonn (O’Connell, trainer). We got chatting one day and I told him that if he was ever looking for a member for a syndicate, he should give me a shout. He rang me then and told me that he had nine fellas in a syndicate and they were looking for a 10th member. I joined them and we bought a horse by the name of Curious Bride from Noel Meade’s yard.

We had her for maybe a year, and then we sold her. We started up another syndicate, the We Built This City Syndicate. There’s 10 of us involved and they’re all very nice lads. We’ve only had Chou Chou since last summer, so that’s how it all started.

It was kind of spur of the moment. Eamonn rang me in a panic, telling me to get the paperwork in order and to think of a syndicate name. The horse was already named, so I just had to come up with a syndicate name. We were singing the song all night in the pub after the win!

Did you get the syndicate started?

It was a mixture. I got some of them together and Eamonn got some. It’s a mixed bunch, there’s young and there’s old and they’re big and they’re small! One lad is from Wexford, originally from Oolagh, and I went to school with him. There’s three lads from Killarney, a few from Limerick. Another member, Sean Fitzgibbon, has been into horses a lot longer than the rest of us. He’s been in the game for 10 years and had his first-ever winner two months ago, so this is his second now, which is great because he’s put a lot of money into the game. They’re all great lads and there’s no moaning! It’s a good syndicate to be in.

Were you confident going into the race at Tipperary?

He was a big price. He had a wind operation done about two months ago, and Eamonn wanted to give him a spin in Limerick to see how he’d go after. He didn’t run great, and we brought him back for another run at Limerick and he didn’t run well at all.

I don’t think going up the hill at Limerick suited him at all, so Eamonn decided to try something new in Tipperary and took off the tongue-tie. We weren’t very confident, but naturally we all still had a few pounds on him because he’s our own horse.

How do you think the race panned out for him?

I thought Killian (Leonard, jockey) gave him a great ride, because he was working on him from nearly six furlongs out and he just got up on the line. Killian gave him a superb ride, so a big hats off to him, it was outstanding. From three furlongs back I thought we haven’t a hope, but next thing he brought the horse out wide and he was coming slowly but surely.

The favourite, Thegooseiscooked, was up in front and I thought we might run into a place but he just kept coming forward. There was a fair roar in the stands because there were a good few of the members there, so it was great. It was our local track as well, I only live a mile up the road from Limerick Junction. We were the talk of the village after!

How was the day for you overall?

They were great at the track, they brought us in for champagne and biscuits after the win, it couldn’t have been any nicer. We ended up going to our local pub then after, Denis Quinlan’s pub in Cullen. It was fairly late when we were leaving and there were a few raw heads the following day!

Have you decided where he’ll run next?

We’re hoping to go to Killarney with him next. Syndicate members Pat O’Donoghue, his daughter Ciara, and Niall Myers are all from Killarney, so it would be nice to give him a run down there. It’s a lovely track.

After having your first winner, are you hoping to buy more horses for the syndicate?

We’re thinking about it. We’ve got the bug now. It happened to me 20 years ago with greyhounds. I started off with my first dog, and once she got to the final of an Oaks, that was it. I got bitten by the bug and ended up with 30 greyhounds at one stage. I’m down to about 15 at the moment.

How has the whole ownership experience been?

We’ve found Horse Racing Ireland very good, and very pleasant to deal with. They were very helpful and on the ball when we were setting up the syndicate. A big thanks has to go to Eamonn, he has been good to us and he works hard.

It’s a struggle when you’re competing against the bigger trainers, but he’s well able to get the winners. His son Eoin is a big help as well, and Eoin’s girl friend Aisling who led up Chou Chou at Tipperary does a great job.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into ownership?

Just go for it! It’s an expensive hobby, let’s face it, but if you can get a syndicate with 10 members it’s doable. It’s very enjoyable with a nice group of syndicate members. The buzz in the stands was unreal. Everyone was turning their heads looking at us roaring our heads off.