IT’S going to be a busy and exciting week for Jack Cantillon. There is going to be massive build up, lots of questions and plenty of prayers that his horse gets to the destination safe, sound and ready for action. And that’s before Cabaret Queen even runs in the Ladbrokes Trophy on Saturday.

A day before that, he’ll watch his Invincible Spirit colt foal walk around the ring at the December Foal Sale at Tattersalls Newmarket.

The colt is out of a mare called Rajeem, who Cantillon bought in-foal to Slade Power for just €26,000 in 2015. That was before her only other son of Invincible Spirit, a certain Invincible Army, now set to stand at Yeomanstown Stud, made a real name for himself in Britain.

Exciting times in the sales ring and on the track. The London lawyer would have it no other way.

He usually watches Newbury’s signature race from the Green Room at Tattersalls and can recall the performances of Strong Flow, Denman and Bobs Worth. Now he is primarily responsible for the second favourite for a race that can create a legend.

Needless to say, he’ll be watching this year’s renewal at the venue itself, and with him will be 86 others, the majority of which form the Syndicates.Racing ownership group he set up. They’re a varied bunch. From a poet to a postman, from a professional golfer to a five-year-old and from a glamorous group of former Rose of Tralee contestants to a few old racing hacks.

Cabaret Queen is just the third horse to run under the Syndicates.Racing banner which has grown again in recent weeks through the acquisition of two more horses – Listen Dear and Tonkinese.

Cantillon explains the idea behind the venture: “I wanted to make it easier for people to gain access to the sport. I looked at the traditional racing club where you might have 100s of people involved but you kind of have this intangible experience with the horse, you can’t really say you own the horse. Then you have the traditional syndicate which is usually 10 to 20 people which is great but horses are expensive.

“I’m a lawyer by profession so half the time I’m not in the racing world and when I talked to people about getting involved, they found the access point intimidating. So what I wanted to do was to reduce that access point whereby you can get in for as little as 1% but nobody in the syndicate can take more than 10%.

“So, for as little as €210 you could have owned a share in Cabaret Queen. I think that is a really important aspect - you own the share so it’s your horse. Okay the mare is on lease, but you still own her for that time. Don’t get me wrong, racing clubs are great but probably more as an educational experience. It’s really important for people to be able to say, ‘this is my horse.’”

Members of Syndicate.racing after their Cabaret Queen won the Munster National \Healy Racing

In all, 69 people will be able to say that with pride at Newbury next weekend. Having cost just £13,000 and won the Munster National already, this is potentially the rags-to-riches story of the season. Cantillon bought the mare in conjunction with his friend Adam Potts at the Goffs UK Horses-in-training Spring Sale at Doncaster.

“She finished fourth in a mares handicap chase at Cheltenham. I remember watching the race and she made a mistake at the fence coming down the hill, only for that she’d have been second,” he recalls.

“I followed her from there and when myself and Adam made up a list of horses we were interested in going into that Doncaster sale, we kept coming back to this mare.

“Willie has done a brilliant job with her. Initially we hoped to go to Galway but he kept her back, did best by the mare. Did we always think we were going to have one of the main players for the Ladbrokes Trophy? No. But Willie gave her every chance to reach her potential and now this is what we have. It’s fantastic.”

Cabaret Queen won the Munster National by an eased down 13 lengths and is one of the main contenders for the Ladbrokes Gold Trophy next week \Healy Racing

Social media

Interestingly, though a portion of the group is made up of friends of Cantillon’s girlfriend Gráinne Hawkes, the remainder are people who responded to posts on Twitter and Facebook.

“Social media is this great democratising tool that allowed me to tell the story of why I bought the horse,” Cantillon says. “By explaining that to people in a real, deliberate way, they can see your thought process. I think people get excited because they’ve peered under the bonnet and they understand it more.

“We’ve taken that interactive approach through the journey of each horse. It’s about having as many videos as possible. When you do the report, it’s no good telling a syndicate that their horse finished third or last, it’s about explaining what this means for the progress of the horse.

“So yeah, okay we finished third, but it was like the Kentucky Derby around the first bend and only for that we might have won. Or we finished last - here is what I think we can change, here is how the navigation has changed. We’re going to try a different track next time or we’re going to use blinkers or we’re going to change a few other things up.”

Cantillon is doing this interview in the middle of a busy week at Goffs. He balances his job working for a law firm in London with his role at Tinnakill House, where he plays an integral part in the business.

We’re talking on Wednesday morning and later in the day Tinnakell sell seven of their eight foals, including a Sea The Stars filly for €200,000 and a Lope De Vega colt for €100,000. Cantillon was also busy buying, picking up a New Bay filly for €37,000. A busy day for someone who is technically on his holidays.

Growing up at Tinnakill and learning from his parents Dermot Cantillon and Meta Osborne provided invaluable experience. He was also inspired by his grandfather Michael Osborne and labels all three of the above as his guiding lights.

He showed his initiative in the sport from his early years as a student in Trinity College where he set up the Trinity College Horse Racing Club and the student race day at Leopardstown, which has consistently sold out since its inauguration.

Still only 27, he is a bright light that many believe can become one of the central figures in Irish racing in the future but he doesn’t see it exactly that way.

“My mind works in a different way, in that it wouldn’t be suited to just racing. I like focusing on both the sport and my legal career. Significantly, I think that gives me a unique perspective and means I can offer something different.

“I don’t want a job in racing but the job I have at the moment is the most important one and that is being one of the custodians of Irish racing, like we all are. We need to make it better for the next generation. I want my kids and grandkids to look up to me like I look up to my parents and grandparents and think that I helped to put the sport in a better place.”

So what does Irish racing need to do? Cantillon keeps coming back to a central theme. Put the horse first. He recounts an experience racing abroad that has stuck with him.

“I was at the Tenno Sho at Kyoto and there were over 100,000 people there. There is more money bet on the Japanese tote than Ireland, Britain and America combined. Every Group 1 race in Japan has its own distinctive musicial jingle and when the jingle goes off everyone in the crowd goes mad. You have this fever of anticipation which is the celebration of the horse,” he explains.

“When you walk downstairs and go to the shop - it’s all plush Almond Eye toys. When you walk around the racecourse, there are Almond Eye seats, there is even an Almond Eye special in the restaurant. That is putting the horse front and centre.

“I’m a punter and I like a bet but for me that should be secondary to the celebration of the horse and the individuals around it, like Rachael Blackmore, like Aidan O’Brien, like Willie Mullins. This is what Japanese racing does and as a result it has the most vibrant product in the world.”

Opportunity

Cantillon believes that there is too much worry in racing in the present climate. The welfare issue is significant and is a threat that should not be ignored, but it is also an opportunity.

“We as an industry are very self-conscious. We are constantly in a state of existential crisis. Instead we need to be proud and we need to be innovative,” he says.

“What is our existential crisis at the moment? It’s welfare. Not on these shores maybe but I look across to America, and I’d be worried. I was lucky to be part of the Washington Ireland Program, a scholarship that allowed me to work in the United States Congress as an intern when I was younger. I saw lobbyists coming in all the time and one time PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) came in and they were lobbying on a variety of things but one of the things was cruelty in horse racing and they were asking what can we do to restrict horse racing? I couldn’t believe it at the time.

“Animal welfare groups are bullies when it comes to racing. What they want to do is to systematically encroach on our sport until the whole thing is eradicated. We need to positively push back. There is no point cowering, because if you’re not proud of our sport, why are you in it?

“We can learn from other sports and how they’ve tackled huge issues. Look at Rugby, a great sport, which has evolved on a major issue like concussion. A lot of people would be worried about allowing their children to play rugby but the sport is navigating away from that problem by changing the laws on tackling to reduce risk of injury.

“Look at Formula One. when Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger died in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, that was a watermark period for the sport because they changed the safety regulations and since then the safety has improved exponentially since.

“I feel racing, in a positive sense, is on the brink of being a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell’s next book. I think if we take positive action we can actually really change the perception on welfare for the better.

“When people talk about Formula One now, they talk about the brakes technology that helps their car every day. For racing, I think there is a really great chance we can become a beacon for animal welfare as a whole, that we can show how any animal should be treated, because that’s what we are - we are the best regulated animal industry in the world. As a result, we should achieve the best welfare and health results for our animals possible.

“I think that is something exciting and something to be proud of and we just need positive action to move that way. Look at the Pat Smullen charity race - this is a perfect example of what we can do if everyone rows in behind something. Sure, there are some rocks in the river, but if we can remove them, the sky’s the limit. The answer should be yes, the next part should be how.”

At the beginning of the season Cantillon wrote a piece for the Thoroughbred Daily News which focused on the huge opportunity the Curragh had this season. It’s been a topsy-turvy year at headquarters but he remains optimistic about the future.

“The Curragh has got off to a rocky start but there are great individuals involved with it that are pushing forward. The big thing for me with the Curragh is I think we need a railway station. It’s long overdue. I’ve heard it could cost a €1 or 2 million to set it up. Surely racing can find that sort of money?

“We need to prioritize. People are talking about a second all-weather track but this is a bigger priority for Irish racing. When I went to Tokyo Racecourse and Flemington, I went by train, when I go to Ascot, I go by train.

“And there are possibilities beyond just race days. You could have organised groups going to see the gallops. There could be a Curragh museum of Irish racing. Cathal Beale in the Irish National Stud and his Irish Racehorse Experience – IRE - could link with this to make up a whole Curragh trail. Ireland is this great tourist destination - we need to grasp hold of this opportunity. Get these tourists and say ‘right come down to get this great experience and see this sport at which we are the best in the world.’”

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Beyond the opportunity to increase attendances and broaden the experience of Irish racing, there are other opportunities in the industry. Naturally, Cantillon is a huge advocate of the sales ring. While he doesn’t understate the benefit of his upbringing, he is adamant the opportunity is there in bloodstock if people want to go and get it and this is another access point he is aiming to make less intimidating.

“I asked some of the members of Syndicates.Racing would they be interested in a bloodstock syndicate and the response was really positive. I’m not surprised because it’s a hugely exciting journey once you explain that to people.

“I actually think the sales ring is just like the racecourse - it is a platform that can make dreams come through. There are people here at Goffs this week that will have incredible stories - taking a €1,000 mare and putting her in foal to a €5,000 stallion and walking away with €75,000. What an incredible, life-changing result.

“Is it difficult? Of course it is. But we keep doing it because it’s exciting and the dream is there. I love the intellectual challenge. I love thinking - if I bought this mare here, send it to this stallion there, could I attract this buyer here?

“I love finding angles. Like Fast Company next year - he’s going to have his first Kildangan crop - will that change his fortunes? There are hundreds of applications for Night Of Thunder - will one of my mares get accepted? What an opportunity if you can get in there. Kingman - he’s gone from £75,000 to £150,000 - is he still value? He probably is!

“I’m a form student and I’m a pedigree student. You obviously have to respect what the horse looks like but there is a great opportunity for people to think analytically. If you have the skillset to have a betting account and make money, you can apply a lot of that same skillset in the sales ring. If you’re struggling to get a bet on, come down to the sales because I can guarantee you Henry Beeby will take your bid!”

Spending an hour speaking to Cantillon, you couldn’t help but feel a lot more positive, enthused and excited about the future of Irish racing. The central theme is that of opportunity, to look forward, to be positive.

He has made and will continue to make a big contribution to the sport he loves. Cabaret Queen and Syndicates.Racing is already a sizeable input which could develop further next Saturday.

“Win, lose or draw, it’ll be a great day and hopefully she comes home safe,” he says hopefully. “Whatever happens we’re going to have a great time and this is going to be some experience. Once you get people into racing, they get hooked and I’ve a feeling that’s the case with these guys.”