THOROUGHBRED Racing Syndicates has made what can only be described as a dream start; winning maidens with our first two individual runners.

Those horses, namely Maritime Wings and Relaxed Artist, have subsequently been sold, leaving syndicate members with a significant return on their initial investment. With a further three juveniles yet to set foot on the racecourse, there may be even more to come.

Another syndicate comprising of three older horses, make up part of Team Ireland in the upcoming Racing League, so members have much to look forward to in the coming months.

Racing had always been a huge part of our lives growing up, with my father owning horses before I was even born. I was one of those kids that went racing in a buggy while still in his infancy and my passion for the sport just developed over the years.

Although Dad stepped away from ownership for a few years when I was in primary school, by the time I reached my early teens he was very much back at the coalface. He enjoyed a lot of success with horses which were trained by Kevin Prendergast, so my interest was really sparked by regular visits to the stables and to the races.

Early on in my college career [Arts at UCD], I realised that I wasn’t cut out to work in an office, as I was much more comfortable being outdoors. In all likelihood, I would have gone on to complete the Irish National Stud Course or Godolphin’s Flying Start, had rugby not intervened.

In fact, the summer before I left for England, I spent a few months at Mount Prospect Stud as I felt my working life was heading in that direction.

Keen interest

At the age of 20, I signed on to Leicester Tigers, where I played for five seasons. Throughout those years, I retained a keen interest in racing, even managing to drag my fellow players along to the local racecourse at the end of the season.

I dabbled in a few partnerships with Dad during those years; owning two fillies which were trained by Ken Condon. Although they failed to shine on the track, one of the fillies went on to breed a few winners.

On my return to Ireland, I played for a further five seasons with Munster. While down in Limerick, I went racing more frequently and bought a filly with some teammates who won three races for us. After I retired from playing professionally, I gave ownership a real whirl and set up the Rugby & Racing Syndicate.

This time, instead of just being for friends, it was more of a business, which was intended to attract serious clients. The intention was to buy older horses which had proven ability but just lost their form of late. By giving them a break and just getting their heads in the game once again, it was hoped that we could get them back to somewhere near their best.

Joseph [O’Brien] does that incredibly well and we managed to win with seven individual horses, as well as getting into the placing with 11 of those 12. Both Joseph and Kevin Blake selected the horses for the syndicate, while I, myself, felt confident to pick a couple after spending time shadowing those pair.

I also spent time with Kevin Prendergast and Jeremy Harley just after retiring from rugby, so the knowledge I gleaned from those men wasn’t lost on me.

Real opportunity

Thoroughbred Racing Syndicates came to fruition late last year after chatting with Joseph. He felt that due to the uncertainty over Covid, the yearling sales could present a real opportunity as horses were likely to be sold at discount prices.

Armed with that information, I set about raising the capital needed to get the venture off the ground – I have never been afraid to back myself and am a firm believer in going big or going home. Despite it being a big ask, I managed to get 11 investors at €50k a share; a budget of €550k.

With Joseph and Donnacha representing Ireland in the newly established Racing League, I also saw an opportunity for owners to get involved in a syndicate which would see their horses compete on a bigger stage.

We have three horses in our stable for the competition which begins at the end of this month. There are still a few shares available if anyone wants to get involved in a truly exciting opportunity. Shares in this particular syndicate are priced at €5,750 for 5% of all three [all costs for a year].

The uptake for both syndicates has been incredibly positive and aside from Irish owners, we also have members from England, America and the UAE.

Our long-term goal is to make Thoroughbred Racing Syndicates the leading of its kind in Ireland and attract owners from all over the world.

The early success of the two-year-olds has put us in a strong position; giving us the time to both reflect and look ahead. The yearling sales are unlikely to present as much value this year, so we either have to attract new owners or cut down on the numbers we buy.

That latter decision would immediately see us on the backfoot as there is less opportunity to spread the risk. Much will depend on how the three juveniles that have yet to race perform when they get to the races – their success, or failure, could determine our course over the following 12 months.

My intention is to add a new syndicate at some point, possibly a National Hunt one. However, I am conscious of not running before I can walk, as it would be a mistake to do too much too soon.

Even after a lifetime involved in racing, I am learning every day, as there is always something new to get my head around. I am very fortunate to work with some of the leading professionals in the industry, who have been instrumental in bringing all of this to fruition.

Email: info@tbrs.ie

Telephone: 087 7840855