WITH the recent advances in terms of racehorse ownership, these days the Dundalk Racing Club may be viewed as something of a ‘Dad’s Army’ within the current ranks.

However, back in the early 1980s, we were trailblazers who paved the way by forcing the Turf Club to make amendments by introducing Rule 291, in order to allow larger groupings to come together to become involved in ownership.

After a gap of eight years, we returned to the winners’ enclosure earlier this month, when our homebred filly, Doctor Grace, was successful at our local track.

I have been involved with ponies and horses for as long as I can remember. I learned how to ride from a local horse dealer, who used to buy and sell animals at fairs throughout Ireland. He lived across the road from our house when I was growing up in Dundalk, so the initial interest sprung from there.

Later, when the family moved out of the town, we were located beside the racing yard of trainer, Bunny Cox.

I had been friendly with former NH jockey Pat Black since his days in Kevin Prendergast’s, so I started riding out in Cox’s yard. My uncle, Pat Sinnott, used to be travelling head lad to the late ‘Darkie’ Prendergast at one time, so I spent some time down on the Curragh. The friendship I developed with Pat Black during those years remained intact throughout our lives.

In 1965, at the age of 18, I joined PJ Carroll as a merchandising representative. I was based around the Clare, North Tipperary and Laois areas.

Local fair

One afternoon, while in Kilrush on work related business, I ended up buying a pony at the local fair. That was to be the start of what would become a lifelong involvement in the buying, selling, racing and breeding of ponies and thoroughbreds.

Over the next few years, I went on to win two classes at the RDS Horse Show and eventually, stand my own pony stallion.

My initial foray into racehorse ownership came via a small thoroughbred I had originally purchased with the intention of becoming a show hack. The well-bred filly, considered too small to make the track, went through a growth spurt, so I gave her to Pat Black to break.

Later named Kilpeacon, she went on to win three races under rules, trained by Bunny Cox. A year after, I bought her half-sister (Crecora), a filly that was placed a few times for Liam Browne, before winning at Dundalk for Bunny Cox.

I subsequently bred from Crecora, with the resultant offspring, Kimangao, becoming the first horse to race for the Dundalk Racing Club. She finished fourth on her debut at Leopardstown under Pat Eddery before later being sold to race in Belgium.

Well versed

After nearly two decades involved in the racing industry, as both breeder and owner, I was fairly well versed on the requisites of both parties.

For the former, the most important factor was that their produce made the racetrack, ideally under the care of a leading trainer. The latter wanted to be involved with winners - a dream more likely to be realised if they had access to a better-quality thoroughbred. Armed with this knowledge, I approached trainer John Oxx, who immediately gave his seal of approval to what was a revolutionary concept at that time.

Prior to 1983, the Turf Club only allowed syndicates with a maximum of 12 members, so the newly proposed idea was alien to that body. However, with the support of John Oxx, one of the most respected people in Irish racing, we succeeded in getting our proposals across the line.

So, it came to be, that when the Dundalk Racing Club was formed in 1983, it was the first of its kind in this country under the new 291 rule.

Winner’s enclosure

A year later, the Dundalk Racing Club paid its first of over 70 subsequent visits to the winner’s enclosure, when All Grey was successful. The colt, who was bred by the Oxx family, won at Navan in what would later become the quite familiar silks of black, white and red.

Under the terms of our lease agreements, we usually had the option to buy a horse up until the time it made its racecourse debut - if we didn’t take up the option, we ‘leased’ the horse; receiving all prize money won during its racing career.

Over the years, we enjoyed some incredible success with some very well-bred horses from Ballykisteen Stud in Co Tipperary. Garaiyba, who we bought from the Aga Khan, gave Ruby Walsh a significant early success when winning the GPT QR Handicap at the 1996 Galway Festival.

Winged Hussar, a Sheikh Mohammed cast-off, was second in that same race the following year before winning the Irish Cesarewitch that autumn. He later became the club’s first runner at Royal Ascot in 1998.

Doctor Brook, Mitsubishi Vision, Flash McGahan and Abbakova all managed to win or place at Listed/Group level but Diamond Seal was unquestionably the best horse to ever represent the club.

Bred by Ballylea Stud, Diamond Seal was sold for £35k at Goffs but subsequently sent back after it was discovered she made a noise. Paul Merveldt, who managed the stud at the time, rang me up to see if I would be interested in the filly.

John and myself went down to take a look at her and a deal was done there and then. It transpired that John had trained the granddam, so he knew the family quite well. Initially we leased the filly but later took up the option to buy her outright.

Diamond Seal gave us our first ever blacktype win when successful in the Listed Woodford Stud Stakes at the Phoenix Park and later represented us in the Group 1 Irish Oaks. In 1987, she became the feature of an RTÉ documentary titled “1/35th Of A Horse”, which catapulted this form of ownership into the public arena.

Substantial offer

Having refused a quite substantial offer prior to the Irish classic, we later sold her at a considerable profit. The funds that we accrued as a result of that sale, gave us the money to be able to continue in business and prosper over the years that followed.

Right up until 2014, the colours of the Dundalk Racing Club were a familiar sight on Irish and UK racecourses. In July of that year, The Big Cat carried our silks to success in a maiden at Navan for John Oxx. Unfortunately, that horse failed to live up to expectations subsequently, proving to be one of the last horses to run for us.

Firecrown was unsuccessful in 10 starts from 2014 to 2016. We then had no representatives on the racecourse for a two-year period from 2018 to 2019.

Having sent Firecrown to the breeding shed following her disappointing track career, she went on to produce three foals by Buratino; namely, Yaddle, Bayou Belle and Doctor Grace.

Yaddle had two starts for John Oxx in 2020; proving to be the final horse we had with the great man before he retired from the training ranks. She was subsequently sent over to David O’Meara in the UK.

The Irish-born trainer had sent out six winners for the club during the 2013/14 season. Yaddle was placed in a Wolverhampton maiden before injury curtailed her racing career. Bayou Belle was sold at Goffs and has since been placed four times for Jarlath Fahey but Doctor Grace had always been the apple of my eye.

Bred by Dundalk Racing Club and my wife, she had something extra about her that you couldn’t help but admire. Having decided to put her in training with Michael Halford, we sent an invitation to the remaining members of the Dundalk Racing Club.

Numbering 50 at one time, the membership had dwindled in recent years but there is still a hardcore of 10 involved in Doctor Grace. Following her recent exploits, the phone has been hopping with calls from former members or family representatives of those that had once been involved.

The interest seems to have been reignited once again, so who knows where the future may take us. We hope to have two to three horses in training in the next 12 months.

Colm McCourt was in conversation with John O’Riordan