How did you get into racehorse ownership?

I was first introduced to racing as an infant and I always wanted to own a racehorse once I could afford to.

My earliest recollection of a ‘talking horse’ was Ballymoss who was trained by the late, great Vincent O’Brien.

What was your best day at the races?

There have been so many great days at the races, as they are always such a spectacle. I was at Ascot to see Galileo beat Fantastic Light in 2001 (Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes).

It was a landmark day for Galileo, Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore and I will always remember it.

What is the biggest drawback about being a racehorse owner?

I don’t consider there to be drawbacks in ownerships. We just need to accept that there may be little or no financial return, a fair amount of heartache and occasionally ecstasy!

Where possible, share ownership. I am lucky to have a good friend and enthusiastic co-owner in Ger Fitzgerald.

In your experience what racecourse in Ireland treats owners the best

and why?

I don’t tend to avail of racehorse hospitality as an owner. I am usually too nervous on the day!

Flat or jump, what do you prefer?

I enjoy both codes of racing, but my

passion is for flat.

What do you look for in a trainer?

Honesty, transparency and good communication skills. I have been lucky to have horses with Frances Crowley, Michael Halford, Aidan O’Brien and now Joseph O’Brien.

How do you think the current crisis will impact on racing in general and ownership in particular?

Clearly any crisis, health or financial will impact on sporting in general.

However, every cloud has a silver lining and our current pandemic, while bringing challenges to racing, will also help re-define the sport which is always a good thing.

What significance do your colours hold?

I have had three sets of colours over the years, my current colours are a combination of the county colours of my co-owners.

I really would like to see the opportunity to be able to design bespoke colours becoming a policy. The current rules could be restructured to allow this.

When buying a horse what do you look for?

I hope to go to the sales more often but up until now I leave the purchasing to the expert, i.e. the trainer. You don’t tell your doctor what operation to do!

What horses do you currently have in training?

Currently we have an Acclamation gelding called Fame And Acclaim running on the flat. Joseph O’Brien has done an amazing job with him this year with two back-to-back recent wins. He is currently at stakes level and hopefully can progress.

What is next on the agenda for your horse?

Fame And Acclaim won over seven furlongs at Punchestown on Thursday. He’s a great horse to have and very genuine. I didn’t even see the race as I was in surgery! I’m absolute thrilled and so grateful to Joseph.

My dream would be to have a group winner, the closest has been a horse called Gluteus Maximus who was third in the Killavullan Stakes when trained by Aidan O’Brien sometime ago (2008). I hope to persuade his son Joseph to expand our ownership for 2021!

What horses do you have to look forward to?

None as yet. I am cautious and tend to procrastinate, but we would hope to pick a nice yearling in the upcoming sales for a 2021 flat campaign as a two-year-old.

What will help to make Irish racing more competitive for the smaller owner/trainer?

I would like to see another all-weather track in the south of the country. Ideally this would be situated in Cork (as I live there!), but more realistically it could be situated at Tipperary Racecourse. This would entice smaller owners/trainers to run their horses on a year round basis and would not necessarily compromise Dundalk which has been a winter Friday night staple for many years.

What advice would you give to

someone thinking of becoming

a racehorse owner?

Only spend an amount of money that won’t financially hurt you. Most of the time the reward is enjoyment rather than financial. Be aware of the running costs and vet’s bills etc and have a monthly allowance for this.

Unless you have a large budget, try and get involved in ownership with friends who have a shared interest and who also enjoy racing and understand what’s involved.

Paul Redmond was in conversation with Olivia Hamilton