How did you get involved in racing?

I used to work for Smurfit Publications who published Pacemaker magazine back in the ‘80s in the UK. From there, I went on to work for various publishing companies, and I publish the Irish Racing Yearbook myself.

As well as all of that, I’m an accountant, and a lot of my clients are in the bloodstock industry. I’ve worked in the industry from the day I left college really. The first share of a horse I had in training was a horse called Wild Strawberry in 1991. That was with Park Lane Racing and James Eustace in Newmarket.

About 10 years ago I started getting involved in a few shares of horses with Michael O’Callaghan and Joe Murphy, and dabbled in a bit of buying and selling. I never had a big enough share in a horse to have it in my own name until Navassa Island.

Tell us more about Navassa Island.We bought her at the Craven Breeze-Up Sale in 2023 from Tally-Ho, and her first run was in a Group 3 at Naas where she finished second behind Porta Fortuna. We actually sold her after that, through Mike Donohoe of the BBA, to Ecurie Ama Zingteam. She ran in plenty of listed races for them for two years, but didn’t get her head in front.

They changed their business model and she ended up on the transfer list, and I bought her back last year. She needs soft ground so we had to wait for that, but we took her to a listed race in Chantilly last year where she finished second to Spycatcher.

We thought about taking her to the sales and letting her retire as a broodmare, and she was entered at Tattersalls in December, but we decided to give her a chance again this year. It was great for me, but I’m even more delighted for Michael and Siobhan and all the crew in the yard. They have been working so hard from the time they started training on the Curragh, to setting up the new yard at Park Lane, between Kilcullen and Dunlavin. It’s been a 10-year journey so far, and it’s been a roller-coaster ride!

How did the partnership with Michael begin?

I used to have a few legs in trading breeze-up horses with various consignors, and Michael too was consigning breeze-up horses at that time as he was starting out in his career. That’s when I got to know him. He then took out a trainer’s licence and moved into training horses. He used his wealth of knowledge from consigning breeze-up horses to now sourcing them for ourselves and his clients.

I took some small shares in various horses as we went along. As I say, Michael’s yard is now outside Kilcullen near the Aga Khan Studs and Juddmonte so he is right in the heart of good thoroughbred country. He’s got a new uphill gallop that’s roughly the same trajectory as Warren Hill in Newmarket, and 40 new stables and all the other facilities plus another 10 stables being built.

Navassa Island was able to slot into that new facility and improve aged four and now as a five-year-old. We got our perfect conditions in Cork last weekend and she floated along to get her just reward. Those new facilities have helped to train her to her optimum. We always knew she had the ability, so it was a great achievement to get it on the board.

We buy 10 or 12 horses every year to breeze. The Breeze-Up Consignors Association and the consignors have done a really good job at promoting the breeze-up sales, and the results speak for themselves. They have produced stallions like Native Trail and Vandeek and lots of top-class fillies. The success of the sales had led to a situation where you have much higher prices now and we have to try and eek out a bit of value.

Last year we bought more back-end horses, as the bigger buyers went for the early two-year-olds, so we missed out. We want to try and split our purchases between early types and back-end horses this year. We’re always open to taking more people on board with our horses to compete with the bigger yards.

Is there a moment that stands out for you as a highlight?

Last Saturday was right up there. Traveling I Am Superman to Australia and Twilight Jet to the Breeders’ Cup were spectacular days but the highlight was being involved in Cercene with Joe Murphy. Winning the Coronation Stakes last year was sensational. Any day you get a winner is special, it makes it all worthwhile. One winning day can make up for 10 losing days.

It must be nice to have found a way to angle your job as an accountant into an industry you’re so passionate about.

At the end of the day, it’s what I know. My friends, the racing community, and people that I work with are all in racing, so it would be impossible not to get the bug for racing. It’s a great thrill. The reason I publish the Yearbook is so the Irish racing community has something to look back on at the end of every year. I don’t do it for the money, I just want to give back to the community we live and work in.

We get calls from October onward looking for the book in the lead-up to Christmas. This year I am going to have some racing partnerships to give people the opportunity to immerse themselves in the sport and maybe enjoy as much as I do, the whole ownership experience. We only live once so why not.