THROUGHOUT the racing world the glue that gels mankind to equine speed is a four-letter word – HOPE. Large amounts of fashion and sociology are part of the mix.

Ladies’ fashion is in the form of “what’ll I wear?”

Probably as many gentlemen and ladies spend the same amount of time poring over racing returns to pick out the stallions most likely to be in fashion. They sell yearlings.

Stable patronage is widely variable. Some top trainers like Aidan O’Brien have only one major owning entity, while the big National Hunt stables of Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls have dozens, all of whom must be ‘trained’ to the characteristics of their yards.

There is nothing new about sharing the ownership of a racehorse. What is new is the number of shares a horse can be syndicated for. There was a joke on the radio a few months ago about Laurence Bellman owning all of a horse called Popmaster. “Well, he did until recently; then the colt was gelded!”

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, I likened it to what we went through with Foot and Mouth. I wondered what was to become of racing and I realised that personal circulation was most likely to be severely curbed. The police told me that I could not leave the confines of the house and garden to go out on the farm and feed the cattle. I continued to do so!

I had seen on February 29th, 2020 a quarter-page advertisement in The Daily Telegraph inviting one to take a share in two racehorses at an average cost of £55 (€63) all-in. This included trainer updates, a monthly magazine, a share of any prize money, the possibility of owners’ badges, free stable visits, video and e-mail updates, betting information and, best of all, a VAT refund scheme. One owns a share in the horse for a year.

We have experienced one each of what owners and trainers dread. Malvern won twice as a two-year-old and decided to give up competitive galloping at three.

Name Of Fame was fourth first time out for Dan Skelton before winning at Worcester under his brother Harry. He broke a hind pastern when most probably cast in his stable at night and had to be put down. Part of the £49 cost of the share and the insurance money was repayable to syndicate members.

Will Carver, Wouldubewell and Unit Sixtyfour were respectively with my old friend Nicky Henderson, Emma Lavelle and Nicky’s former assistant Ben Pauling. Fifty-five quid represented about 4% of my pension, and I thought that a year’s subscription would be far better that a one-off lunch for two anywhere. One can make a gift of a share, so I allocated the last named to my other half, Maggie.

Will Carver was third second time out before winning three of his next four races and being placed second. Wouldubewell won her first race, having won two point-to-points in Ireland before being bought and syndicated by Owners Group, and was runner-up at Exeter last February.

When I wrote weekly for The Irish Field as French racing correspondent in 1963 for four guineas a throw, I lived near the Valle d’Auge in Normandy at the Haras du Pin, home of the French National Stud.

My fellow students introduced me to Calvados, a local ‘brandy’ made from apples. Thus when I saw that Owners Group was syndicating Calva D’Auge for £50, it was a no-brainer! The five-year-old son of Air Chief Marshall has won three races for Paul Nicholls.

Wind operation

Manorbank took the eye of Paul Nicholls and has yet to run. I do not recall ever seeing the figure 2 five times consecutively in the form of a racehorse but that’s the record of Maggie’s Barrichello following a third first time out. Breathing difficulty may have hampered him, hard as he tried for leading jockey Brian Hughes and trainer Donald McCain. After a summer’s grazing and a wind operation, we hope to see the Irish-bred, five-year-old son of Gentlewave first past the post soon.

Wurlitzer captured my imagination as a son of Adaay, having caught the eye of a scout at the Craven Breeze-Up Sale for his athleticism and length of stride. His dam, Olympic Medal, was bred and raced by Queen Elizabeth. Only later did I discover that she was useless. The thought of Alan King’s three winners at Royal Ascot and his excellent record with horses under both rules prevailed. Wurlitzer went down by half a length in a handicap at Kempton and has been third, beaten a length, at Wolverhampton. Better things are expected of him.

Nico de Boinville is itching to get back on Fable, winner of her only point-to-point before joining Nicky Henderson’s string at Seven Barrows in Lambourn. Placed second first time out, she went on to give Nico winning rides at Huntingdon and Haydock.

Pronunciation

Nobody seems able to pronounce Huelgoat, a French-bred by Voilasenuo, himself a son of the German stallion Network, a prolific sire of top-class jumpers like Sprinter Sacre and Delta Work. Syndicated at £53 a share we liked the pronunciation “Who’ll ‘e go at?”

Jaboticaba is another with a puzzling name. Jabot is the ornamental frill on lingerie, or the frill on a gentleman’s evening shirt. I cannot fathom ‘icaba’. It might have an Arabic connotation from his sire Muhtathir, the sire of Kruguyrova and Pacha Du Polder. He ran a good third at Newbury for Alan King and Tom Bellamy in March and suffered a bleed in his lungs on his next start, but has recovered fully.

Nickleby is a beautifully bred son of Kodi Bear and the American-bred mare, Laheen, the dam of three winners and a half-sister to Hot Streak, from the famous family of Height Of Fashion. In four runs, he has shown Charlie Hills, the trainer of Battash, some promise and was recently gelded.

Gaulois, Carlo Du Berlais, Makin’yourmindup, Covert Mission and General Medrano have yet to race for us. Covert Mission ran six times unplaced for Johnny Murtagh before being second twice for James Ferguson when he changed stables.

Tulin

Last but not least is the Elite Syndicate-owned son of Gleneagles, Tulin. He won novice hurdles last season for Paul Nicholls under Harry Cobden and Lorcan Williams. He was second in a listed hurdle last weekend at Kempton – a great start to the new campaign. .

It is probably as difficult to get into racing as it is to get on the housing ladder with insufficient capital. Investing in shares in racehorses requires little capital.

The thrill of owning the tiniest portion of a runner has to be experienced to be believed. Our horses have run about 60 times for 12 wins, 12 seconds, seven thirds and a number of fourth places. Some 80% of ‘our’ horses that have run are winners.

Every horse that we have bought a share in and has run has won some money. Seeing one’s winner past the post is the best of armchair television.

Donough is The McGillycuddy of the Reeks, one of the dozen survivors of the old Gaelic order. The McGillycuddy of the Reeks is the hereditary chief of the name of McGillycuddy, a family originating around the range of mountains in Co Kerry bearing the same name.