LITTLE did Cathal Beale know when he walked through the gates of the Irish National Stud in January 2007 that he would return a little more than a decade later as the CEO of this national jewel.

Indeed, his somewhat meteoric rise to one of the key positions in the international bloodstock world is a huge compliment to the quality of the Thoroughbred Breeding Management Course at Tully, and Cathal could be said to be the poster boy when it comes to singing its praises.