BIG-PRICED winners by their nature can generate headlines within racing, but when Ellie Mac crossed the line in front at a price 50/1 in the opening race of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival in December, it was not her starting price that catapulted her success into the attention of the mainstream media. It was the colours that she had carried to that shock victory, those of the Niccolai Schuster Horse Racing Club.

Niccolai Schuster was one of six students killed in the Berkeley balcony tragedy in June 2015. The 21-year-old from Terenure in Dublin, a grand-nephew of writer and playwright John B. Keane, was a racing fan and his family and friends have continued his love affair with the sport by setting up the racing club in his name.

Speaking to RTÉ following the success at Leopardstown, Niccolai’s father John explained the story.

“This is the greatest day of our lives since the tragedy. Our son died in Berkeley and he was a great racing fan. We decided at a party to put a racing club together and there was no shortage of neighbours, friends and support from all over the world.

“I approached Tom Malone to buy the horse and he bought the horse from Aidan Fitzgerald, two unbelievable talent spotters.”

The Court Cave mare had finished third on her only start between the flags, in the same four-year-old mares’ maiden at Lemonfield last year contested by listed bumper winner Posh Trish and Grade 2 third Colreevy. It started a connection with Carlow handler Aidan Fitzgerald that saw the Schuster family have their first runner in a point-to-point last weekend.

“Tom Malone comes down to the yard once every year around Christmas time and we would show him what we like and what we think could be the nice horses. Ellie Mac was one of the mares’ that I put forward to him as one of the good ones,” explains Fitzgerald.

“She went and ran at Lemonfield on her debut in what was a proper race. Posh Trish ended up winning it and we would only have been beaten seven or eight lengths, but we got stopped to a standstill at the last.

“In fairness, Tom (Malone) took our word and bought her for the Schuster family and she then went into training at Henry’s (De Bromhead).

“It was brilliant to see what she achieved for them at Leopardstown over Christmas. That was massive for them, it would be their local track and it was very important.”

NICCOLAI

The point-to-point route followed by their Leopardstown winner Ellie Mac, who also took them to last month’s Cheltenham Festival, is one they were keen to follow with their second horse, a Flemensfirth mare that has been named Niccolai and is under the care of Fitzgerald.

“John and Graziella decided that they wanted another horse, a nice young three-year-old.

“Graziella was into horses when she was younger and she has a good bit of experience with horses and she had said that she always want to get back into them. Tom (Malone) bought them that filly and as they got Ellie Mac from point-to-points, they decided to go back down that route with this filly and gave her to me for the season. I was absolutely delighted to get her.”

Running in the same blue and red colours, the four-year-old made her debut at Loughanmore on Saturday when beaten over just over five lengths into the fifth.

“She had a lovely run up in Loughanmore and the plan will be that she will go again in a few weeks and then she will go into training with Henry (De Bromhead). It was brilliant that they could come up to Loughanmore on Saturday and have a good day.

“I love producing horses for people like the Schuster family that train on and do as well as Ellie Mac has done in her first season with Henry.”