JIM Coffey has no background in racing and just a few years ago he had no interest in the sport. Now he has close to 15 horses in training with Paul Nolan and his financial software company, SoftCo, sponsors the yard.

The Dun Laoghaire man explains how it all started: “One of the SoftCo senior managers, Killian McCarthy, is married to Jennifer Walsh and he has ridden in a number of charity races. Killian was friendly with Paul and James Nolan, and he introduced me to them and the sport about 10 or 12 years ago.”

It started with one horse and Jim was soon hooked. “We got on well and it took off from there,” he says. Jim would highly recommend racehorse ownership to anyone and he says you don’t need a big budget to get involved.

“In my opinion the best way to start is with a group of people coming together as a syndicate to buy a young untried horse with expert advice. We use [bloodstock agent] Gerry Hogan. Watching a horse develop and improve with each run is great to see. I think that’s better than buying a second-hand horse and hoping it recovers its best form.”

IMMERSED IN RACING

Jim’s wife and family are now immersed in racing, whether they like it or not. The Coffeys had their best day in racing so far at Leopardstown in February when Quamino won the valuable two-mile Goffs Handicap Chase on the first day of the Dublin Racing Festival.

“I go down to Wexford to see the horses quite often, at least once a month. My daughter Charlotte is mad into it. It’s great to not only see the horses exercising but also to chat about the plans for each of them.”

Sponsoring the yard was “a natural extension” of Jim’s involvement. “The Nolans’ horsebox is carrying the SoftCo logo all over the country. We’re associated with a successful yard and it’s all good for brand awareness. Lots of people we deal with like racing and there’s a goodwill factor. Listen, we were sponsoring the Irish ladies hockey team when nobody else wanted to do it!”

Unfortunately Jim can’t be there for the open morning but he is certain that the Nolans will put on a great show. “At this time of year a lot of the horses will be out to grass but that means Paul and James will have more time to talk to everyone and explain how they work. I think that’s the best part.”