JULY 27TH

A MONTH since returning home from many years spent involved with Hong Kong racing, I pitch up at Ballymany for my first day with Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM). It is a good week to join with the focus firmly on the Galway Races and Goodwood. Keeping tabs on and writing about the constant flurry of Irish-bred and trained success - not just on both sides of the Irish Sea, but worldwide - begins. This becomes a regular theme: Irish horses win a lot of big races in a lot of places.

One of the first things observed is the changing make-up to the ITM personnel almost every day. More often than not, staff members are racing, attending international sales or visiting potential clients. If you’re not on the road, you’re working towards it. The primary focus is on developing new markets and enhancing those that are mature.

LOOKING AFTER VISITORS

This entails a great deal of behind the scenes work. We facilitate the processing of many visas to Ireland via letters of invitation to clients who need them. Right now is the cusp of a busy period. For example, Turkey is a market I have been assigned and there has been a clamour for visas for the November Foals and Breeding Stock Sale at Goffs next week. This past week has required a presence at the Tattersalls NH Sale at Fairyhouse, ensuring all foreign buyers are well looked after.

If people want to visit our country to buy horses, we are there to ease the process. We also help with flights, airport transfers and booking hotels, too. The job is part networking, part equine travel agency.

I was thrilled to make a trip back to Hong Kong at the end of August, one week ahead of their new season starting. Irish horses are very much coveted by all at Sha Tin, especially considering seven of the top 10 highest ranked horses at the end of the 2014/15 season carried an IRE suffix - and this from just 16% of the local population dominated numerically by horses from the southern hemisphere. Note to self: this has to be kept going, or improved preferably.

The Goresbridge breeze-ups in May next year might be an interesting target for Asian-based buyers, especially if the euro stays anywhere near these rock bottom rates at present.

The different team members of ITM are assigned regional markets best suited to their background and strengths. Also newly recruited, the polyglot Katie Rudd covers a wide spread of European countries. Eimear Chance makes regular forays across the Irish Sea to assist with our most established market in addition to developing clients in India. Sarah Gavin attends race meetings in Britain as well as Scandinavia and sales in the United States. All of this is plotted by CEO Charles O’Neill whose own travel brief is far and wide on behalf of all aspects of the thoroughbred industry.

IRISH CHAMPIONS WEEKEND

Two more highlights arrived in September. The Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown and the Curragh truly was excellent and just being present felt like a privilege. It would be hard to replicate the quality of those meetings anywhere, even in places that trumpet themselves as hosting ‘world championships’.

Towards the end of the month the big yearling sales came and went in a blur. The combined efforts of both sales houses and ITM helped attract clients from more than 30 countries. The clearance rate at Tattersalls was very high with turnover up by 33% on the previous year.

A week later the Goffs Orby Sale witnessed four lots worth in excess of €1 million. Not previously being a frequent visitor to thoroughbred auctions, I especially enjoyed the spiralling bidding to €2 million for the Raven’s Pass filly from Kilcarn Stud. One day later it was great to see a high clearance rate at the Goffs Sportsman’s Sale.

IRISH STALLION TRAIL

Looking ahead, there are more ventures overseas for the team, more markets to work on. Early in the new year, ITM also presents the second edition of Irish Stallion Trail on January 22nd and 23rd. The inaugural event attracted nearly 3,000 members of the public last year so here’s hoping for another successful renewal with the dates sandwiched neatly between the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park and the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown.