IN the early days of Eoin Griffin’s training career, the Galway Festival was lucky for him and he has trained the winners of three of the feature races. Homebred Rua Lass landed the Dawn Milk Handicap Hurdle in 2001, Kevkat won the Guinness Handicap in 2006 and Admiral Barry won the Carlton.ie/Galway City (QR) Handicap in 2010. He is now hoping he can land the Plate next Wednesday to fulfil a lifelong dream.

“Galway was good to me starting off but the Tote Galway Plate has always been one I want to win. That and the Guinness Galway Hurdle would be top of my agenda.”

He’s had a few contenders for the Plate in the past, notably Lucky Wish who came down at the last when in contention. That was 2011.

The six-time winner Ol Man Dingle will have a shot at it this time round. “He won a beginners’ chase in Galway last October ahead of Will The Wise and they will meet again next Wednesday. He followed up with victory in a Grade 3 in Cork (Paddy Power Novice Chase).

“When he stepped into handicap company, it took him a while to find his feet. However, a third-place finish in the Mayo National at Ballinrobe in May was followed with a win in the Galway Plate Trial at Kilbeggan, setting him up for a crack at the main event in Galway. The current ground is right up his alley, so we’ll be hoping it doesn’t rain between now and then.”

It’s been a while since Griffin was in the winner’s enclosure at the Festival but he heads to Ballybrit this year well-armed. “We will have more runners next week than we have had for a few years, possibly four or five. Splashing Out will go for the mares’ hurdle on Wednesday and Molto Amichi will possibly run in a handicap on Thursday. He won in Killarney last week. If we come away with one winner, I’ll be happy.”

Griffin has great memories of the meeting since his childhood. “My late aunt Betty (Griffin) loved the racing and used to take a house for Galway week and we’d all go over. She loved her horses and a bet. She’d often send me into the bookies in Waterford. I was only nine or 10 at the time.”

Griffin’s interest stemmed from her and from his father Sean, who went racing and bred a few thoroughbreds. Eoin’s job as a maintenance fitter with Guinness in Waterford City involved shift work, so he also rode out for Joe Crowley a few mornings. At that time a career in racing was, as he said himself, ‘a universe away’.

Career change

An accident in the 1990s forced a change of career, however, and he left Guinness in the early noughties. It was all down to timing really, as by then some of the homebreds were ready to run and he was already set up with a few stables at the back of the house.

Around 1996, he bought a greenfield site near his home place in the village of Slieverue, three miles from Waterford city on the Kilkenny border. Over the next 10 years Beacon Hill continued to flourish when he bought additional land and expanded the operation. It is now a truly spectacular training facility boasting 65 stables, both uphill and circular gallops, and a pool, all with an view overlooking the Barrow Valley.

“We finished building in September 2008, just as the recession was taking hold. The timing of the expansion couldn’t have come at a worse time and the following 10 years were quite challenging. Throughout the Celtic Tiger most of my business had been centred around builders and developers, so the recession hit us very hard. We did quite well to stay afloat.”

Green shoots have come through since, and things are looking up, but finding and keeping owners, and rising costs are still everyday hurdles.

“There is no comparison between now and then. It was a lot easier getting owners back in the day when I was starting out. Now recruiting new owners is a lot more challenging but you must keep plugging away.

Whether you are a big or small trainer, it’s pretty much the same. You’re training horses in the morning and communicating with owners in the afternoon, trying to recruit new owners, or source new horses.”

Limited budgets

In the boom years he had 30 in training. Currently there’s 20 and he’s been holding that figure for a while. “When it comes to sourcing horses our budgets are very limited, but we always have a few floating around ready for syndicates or owners. Obviously, the bigger stables have bigger budgets. We don’t have a huge pool of owners. They range from private individuals to syndicates, and partnerships.”

Ol Man Dingle is one of three owned by the Dunglen Racing Syndicate which is headed up by Brian Caherty. “They also have Lough Nigara. I think there’s 10 involved in him.”

With regards to the ‘have a go’ owners, Griffin said: “That type of person, whether they were getting involved in a horse themselves or part of a syndicate has declined in recent years. Most of them had an interest in going racing and having a bet, and all that went with it, seem to have lost interest.

“I’ve approached fellas that might have had a horse with me in the past and they’ve no interest now. It’s mainly due to the difficulties that they have getting a bet on; it’s a wider issue. If we want to develop the industry, the bookmakers have a part to play in it as well.”

Griffins said prize money is also a major factor when it comes to attracting new owners. “The recent announcements regarding increases in prize money are welcome. The prize money at Grade 1 level was sadly lacking but the base level needs urgent addressing as well. If a horse wins a race at minimum value, the owner walks away with less than €5,000. It’s a sad state of affairs.

“A horse could win three races in a season and he’s not even covering his training fees. If we want to be serious about attracting owners and syndicates into the game, the prize money needs to increase substantially.”

Keeping owners happy is an important part of the business, and Griffin acknowledges the improvements in owners’ facilities at many of the tracks around the country.

Of course, horses still need to run well. “If you have horses doing well you have happy owners. When things don’t go well that’s when the problems start, but most people that get involved in horse ownership understand there’s no guarantee of success.

“If they feel you communicate well and everything’s done to the best of your ability, it does make it a bit easier.”

Rising costs

Rising costs are another headache that Griffin, and every trainer for that matter, must try to balance every day. “Years ago, I’d fill the tractor with diesel, and I wouldn’t have to think about it. Now it’s substantial. Staff costs have increased, horse feed, everything really. Those concerns are not just related to small yards. It’s every yard. Training fees have not kept in line with inflation.”

Griffin currently has four full-time riders and one yard person. “I have accommodation on-site but all of them happen to be local. I haven’t had to advertise in a while - they usually come by word of mouth. It just so happens that all my riders have been female in recent years. I find them to be a little more attentive with the horses.”

Two of those have been acknowledged by the ITIEA (Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards) for their contribution to the industry. “Elaine O’Donovan won the Horse Care Award in 2017. She’s now working with Joseph (O’Brien). Natalie Bradley, who is our yard supervisor from New Ross, won the Newcomer Award in 2023. It’s great that they get recognition from the awards, the staff really appreciate it.”

“Natalie took out her licence a few years ago and will hopefully have a ride in Galway next week. I would like to see the ladies’ series of races expanded and to have a televised race for them, perhaps at a festival like Galway or Listowel.

“In recent years there has been an increase in the number of young women coming into the industry, but if they have ambitions of taking out a jockey’s licence it can be difficult for them to get started.The ladies’ races are generally well supported by trainers, and an expansion of the series could be promoted by the industry to attract young women into racing.”

Working hours

For Griffin it is important that his staff get ample time off and the current arrangements are working well. “The full-time staff do six mornings, from 8am to 1pm and 3.30pm to 5pm in the afternoons. Every second week they have the afternoons off. I think we were overstaffed in the afternoons, and this is something we have just introduced. We also do a rota for Sundays. If they work it, they have a day off the following week.”

Griffin has been lucky with his team but agrees that the shortage of staff nationwide is still an issue. Asked if it’s a wage problem, a housing problem, or an image problem, he replies: “It’s probably a combination of all three. Wages have improved a lot over the last number of years. Housing does factor into it too. A lot of yards are rural by nature.

“I still think there’s a bit of an image problem though. You still hear it on the television about long hours, hard work, poor pay. We all accept the hours can be long at times, especially on a raceday, but it’s not as bad as it was years ago and I think we need to promote that rather than harking back to how things were years ago.”

“I recently joined the board of RACE and there are exciting times ahead with the development of the National Equine Campus in conjunction with HRI and Equuip. I think the NEC will become a shining light for the industry and will provide educational and training opportunities for staff within the industry. In time I feel that the NEC will be a huge assistance in attracting young people to work in the industry.”

Griffin feels that broadcasters could also play their part by making racing more exciting to watch. It would help with the image too. “Look at Formula 1 and soccer for example. It’s where they have the cameras positioned that gets you right in there with the action. They really portray the involvement in the sport an awful lot better. It’s one thing needs improvement in racing coverage.”

Griffin has been on the committee of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association for well over a decade. “I know the wheels of change move slowly but there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes.

“The job of the IRTA is to support all trainers – they do that very well. Our CEO Feidhlim Cunningham does a very good job, and the office door is always open and trainers are encouraged to get in touch if they have any issues that need addressing. Feidhlim was the driving force behind the introduction of the William Hill Series last season, which was an overwhelming success. The continuation of the series for the coming season is a big boost.”

More support

The series is geared towards smaller trainers, which Griffin said could do with more support. “HRI have nothing specifically in place to target small trainers. I would like them to do something as well.”

Griffin says that trainers across the board still have issues with non-payment from rogue owners. “We are not looking for the governing bodies to sort out our problems, but more could be done though as this has an impact with the wider industry. There is an opening there to have a mediation committee. What really galls trainers is watching someone leave a yard with a training bill behind and move their horses down the road.”

Griffin placed sixth in the William Hill Series this year from a small pool of horses. “I’d like to see improvements on how trainer’s statistics are presented. A trainer’s strike rate is a stat that is generally perceived as a fair indicator of their success. However, in general small trainers do not have horses that can compete in maiden hurdles and as a result it can take five or six races for those horses to find their level. This has a negative impact on a small trainer’s strike-rate that is not as relevant to the bigger trainers”.

“I would like to see a statistic introduced that analyses a trainer’s number of winners against the number of horses that they have in training. This can now be done with the recent introduction of the requirement for trainers to register a return with HRI for all the horses under their care.”

Eoin Griffin has weathered many storms since his first runners in 1997, but he remains upbeat and keeps looking forward. “Obviously I would love to have more horses in training. I would like to think we can rebuild over the next few years. Trainers are an optimistic bunch in general.

“In fact, we are eternal optimists.”