ALL are welcome to attend a racing and breeding industry seminar in the Hotel Minella, Clonmel, next Friday [February 3rd]. Admission is free.

Organised by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, the event starts at 3pm [registration from 2pm]. The opening session is entitled ‘Modern Day Bloodstock Industry Requirements’ and it will cover regulatory requirements from the Department of Agriculture, employment law news, the Anti Doping Task Force Report and registration of foals.

Panellists include Hazel Sheridan from the Department of Agriculture, Ronan Murphy from Weatherbys Ireland, Horse Racing Ireland’s Carol Nolan, leading veterinary surgeon Des Leadon and Dr Lynn Hillyer from the Turf Club.

The evening session, starting at 6pm, is entitled ‘What Does The Future Hold For The Irish Bloodstock Industry?’ It will include an analysis of the recent sales season (both flat and National Hunt), the current quality of mares and stallions in the country, the question of breeding to race or sell, and a discussion on what more can be done to stimulate racehorse ownership.

The Irish Field Editor Leo Powell will chair this session and the panellists are trainers Colin Bowe, Ger Lyons, Mark Johnston, stallion master Joe Foley, breeder Damian Burns, and bloodstock agent Ed Sackville.

EVENING SESSION: ‘WHAT

DOES THE FUTURE HOLD

FOR THE IRISH

BLOODSTOCK INDUSTRY?’

COLIN BOWE

Racehorse Trainer

From Kiltealy, Co Wexford, Colin Bowe is the country’s leading point-to-point handler while also enjoying considerable success on the racecourse proper.

Colin spent time with trainers Jim Bolger and Aidan O’Brien before branching out on his own. He ran a pre-training yard and then saddled point-to-pointers. In 2010 he took out a full trainer’s licence, and he was the leading point-to-point handler for the first time that year. He is now the only handler to have won that title four times.

Among the horses he has trained to win on the track are Snowy Morning, Shinrock Paddy, Clondaw Kaempfer, Askanna, Little King Robin and Shantou Flyer.

In pointing, he had his best season in 2015-’16 with 34 winners and he dominated the four-year-old division. In all he trained 22 individual four-year-olds to win and horses from his yard topped three horses in-training sales, namely Samcro (Aintree), Timewaitsfornoone (Cheltenham Festival) and Getabird (Punchestown). Colin was responsible for a Cheltenham Festival winner in Ballyalton and an Aintree winner in Katachenko.

Other Festival winners to start their career with Bowe include Western Warhorse, The Druid’s Nephew and Same Difference. Royal Ascot and Galway Hurdle winner Clondaw Warrior is another graduate of Milestone Stables.

Bowe is both a significant purchaser and consignor at the major National Hunt sales.

DAMIAN BURNS

Breeder/Consignor

Based at Lodge Park Stud in Freshford, Co Kilkenny, Damian Burns is continuing a family tradition by consistently breeding and consigning top-class flat foals and yearlings to the market. The stud made worldwide headlines in 2013 when selling a yearling filly at Tattersalls for a world-record five million guineas. Lodge Park’s most famous graduate is Derby winner New Approach.

Damian is also a member of the ITBA Council.

MARK JOHNSTON

Racehorse Trainer

One of Britain’s leading trainers, Mark Johnston has trained over 3,800 winners in Britain alone. His remarkable record of consistency is underlined by an unparalleled achievement – for the past 23 years, without exception, he has trained at least 100 domestic winners. In 2009, he also became the first British trainer to send out more than 200 flat winners in a season.

He spent three years in veterinary practice before being granted a licence to train in 1987. In 1988, he moved to the historic Kingsley House in Middleham.

Since then, he has climbed swiftly to the top rank of British trainers, attracting the attention, and, in due course, the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed with a stream of top-class winners.

The flag-bearers for the Middleham maestro include those remarkable stayers, Double Trigger and Royal Rebel, the 2000 Guineas winner Mister Baileys, the remarkable Dewhurst Stakes winner Shamardal, and the first filly to land the English and Irish 1000 Guineas double, Attraction.

A former director of the British Horseracing Authority, he was recently appointed as a trustee of the Racing Foundation.

JOE FOLEY

Breeder & Stallion Master

Joe established Ballyhane Stud in Leighlinbridge, Co Kilkenny in 1991. It is now one of Ireland’s leading commercial stallion farms, home to five flat stallions this year including the highly successful Dandy Man.

Foals, yearlings, breeze-ups, Ballyhane Stud shows up prominently in lots of sales catalogues. Joe’s wife Jane has a trainer’s licence, giving the business a full view of the industry. Leading owners such as Sheikh Fahad’s Qatar Racing and Steve Parkyn’s Clipper Logistics value Joe’s bloodstock advice.

A former chairman of the ITBA, Joe has a reputation for being one of the industry’s innovators. He played an important role in setting up Irish Champions Weekend and the ITM Stallion Trail.

GER LYONS

Racehorse Trainer

Ger began working with horses at a young age helping his neighbour, the late Peter McCreery in Clane, Co Kildare.

At the age of 20, Ger spent six months as a work-rider with top USA trainer Carl Nafzger before moving to Britain and spending four years as a professional jump jockey.

Ger rode 50 winners before injury intervened and, with wife Lynne, he returned to Ireland to train at Glenburnie Stables in Dunsany, Co Meath.

The quality of horses and quantity of winners at Glenburnie has steadily improved over the years.

A Royal Ascot win in 2007 with Elletelle was a significant milestone, and Lightening Pearl gave him a first Group 1 win in 2011.

Ger’s runners have earned over €1 million on the track in each of the past three seasons and in 2016 he had 57 winners.

Perhaps the most significant feature of Ger’s success is his strike-rate with two-year-olds.

He had 22 juvenile winners last year, the vast majority of which were bought at the sales for reasonable money.

LEO POWELL (chairman)

Editor, The Irish Field

Leo Powell has been working professionally in the business for 40 years, having joined Ballsbridge Sales (now Tattersalls Ireland) in June 1976. In 1988 he was appointed National Hunt manager of Goffs and held a number of roles, and was a director of the company, before his move to The Irish Field in 2003.

Prior to his role with The Irish Field, Leo contributed to many aspects of the industry, including being a long-time member of the Council of the ITBA and serving a term as National Hunt chairman. He was on the Cataloguing Standards Committee for four years, and for three years served on the European Sub-Committee of the International Cataloguing Standards Committee.

He has become a well-known voice at many equine events and symposiums which he regularly chairs.

ED SACKVILLE

Bloodstock Agent

Since jointly setting up SackvilleDonald, Ed has purchased classic-winner and champion Sky Lantern, leading two-year-olds Brown Sugar, Burnt Sugar and Kachy, and the dams of Group 1 winner Byrama and Royal Ascot winner Balios.

Ed began his career working alongside John Warren. He subsequently worked at Coolmore Australia, Side Hill Stud and Highclere Stud before spending six months as assistant to trainer Hughie Morrison. He was also a member of the first-ever Darley Flying Start class which saw him gain experience in Ireland, America, Australia, Dubai and the UK.

Prior to establishing SackvilleDonald, Ed spent three successful years working alongside Alastair Donald at the Kern Lillingston Association. Ed’s yearling clients have included Tom Dascombe, Richard Hannon, Hugo Palmer, Luca Cumani and the late Sir Henry Cecil. Stallion deals have been completed on behalf of clients from the UK, Ireland, France, Greece and Morocco.