“IT’S the same as a lot of things in Ireland, it’s only after a few pints that the ideas come!” laughed John Bolger, and the idea to buy a horse has certainly worked out for the Times Are A Changing Racing Syndicate.

Their first winner together arrived at Navan earlier this month when Timesareachanging scored for the first time under rules, providing Bolger and his group of friends with a memorable success.

“We’ve all been involved in horses before, just not all together. We’ve been going racing together as a group over the last number of years, to Cheltenham in November and Newbury,” John explained. Not from a thoroughbred background originally, he caught the racing bug through attending race meetings before eventually becoming involved in ownership. “I’ve been going racing for the last 30 years, to Punchestown or Listowel, and since Covid I got more involved. I joined a leasing syndicate then a few years ago. I fancied getting a smaller syndicate together like we have now, with a group of friends. It’s nice to have a local horse with a local group of people.”

Where it all began

Moneygall is where this story began. “We’re all from the same local parish in Moneygall, and Ollie Hayes’ pub is the only pub in the parish, so we all socialise there. Ollie himself is involved with the horse as well.”

As one might expect, the syndicate’s colours mirror those worn by the local GAA and soccer clubs. They also provided Moneygall jockey Philip Donovan with a special milestone. “After the race, Philip said that it was the first time he’d won anything in the Moneygall colours,” John quipped.

Being a Bob Dylan fan, I obviously had to enquire about the name of the horse and the syndicate. “The horse is named after the Bob Dylan song, The Times They Are A Changin’, and we didn’t put a huge amount of thought into the syndicate name,” John admitted. “We liked the name of the horse, so we said we’d use it for the syndicate name as well. It was a very fast decision!”

As we all know well, the road to the racecourse is far from straightforward. After being purchased in 2024, the gelding suffered a significant setback. “He got a few knocks and tore a ligament in the first yard he was in, around August or September of 2024, and the vet said that he needed 12 months off.”

Fortunately, John and his group of friends were surrounded by the right people during their horse’s rehabilitation. “We brought him to a local man and friend of ours. Liam, his son John, and his partner Shauna have a couple of stables and took very good care of him. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are at all.” His temperament also played its part. “He’s a very calm horse, and doesn’t get excited which probably helped. He’s a very laid-back character.”

Training time

When it came time to look for a trainer and get the ball rolling again, Philip recommended jockey Cian Quirke, who also has a pre-training yard. “Philip advised us to go to Cian, who is also a jockey at Andy Slattery’s, so we brought the horse there for six weeks. He got him fit, and we then made the decision to bring the horse to Andy around the middle of October last year. The horse has come on leaps and bounds ever since.”

Bolger is quick to acknowledge the value of experience within the group. “I’m probably the least experienced in the group when it comes to racing. It’s all about having the contacts, getting a call about a horse, and having trust in the person that’s giving you the call.

“Mike Hayes has been involved with horses over the years and would know more people that are heavily involved in the industry, so having his knowledge is great. The likes of Philip Donovan and his father have been a big help.

“It’s great to have those people around. There are a lot of people that we’d socialise with locally that are involved with horses in some way as well, and all of that helps.”

When I asked about their day out at Navan earlier in the month, John said: “It was great craic altogether. I wouldn’t say that we were confident, but we went to Navan fairly hopeful of a good run, so it wasn’t out of the blue.

“He had a run in Limerick three weeks earlier. It was a good run, but a tough race with tough ground conditions. It was great to give him his chance. He looked so well in the parade ring, at Limerick and in Navan, which was great to see.”

In a maiden hurdle featuring rivals rated in the 120s, Philip made a decisive move to take over the running.

“To beat horses of that level in a maiden is unusual enough. It was a slow pace for the first half-mile or so, so Philip did the right thing in getting him to the front and picking up the pace,” said John, after Timesareachanging had driven on to beat Bill Durkan’s Court Compliance by a length and three-quarters.

Prestbury plans

Regarding future plans, John said that a step up in trip is on the cards, along with a possible excursion to every National Hunt owner’s dream racecourse.

“We’re hoping to run him in the Grade 3 novice hurdle at Clonmel, and if he puts in a good run there we’ll try to go on to Cheltenham for the Albert Bartlett. We’ve been to Cheltenham for the November meeting for the last three or four years, but to have a runner on Gold Cup Day would be fantastic.”

It’s not every day that an owner comes across a horse that’s good enough to ignite thoughts of running at the Cheltenham Festival, but the dream is alive for John and his friends. “I’ve been involved with one or two on the flat before, and a few of the lads have been involved with National Hunt horses, but none that have gone to Cheltenham,” John said, before adding with excitement, “There would be more than just the five of us on the plane if he runs. We’d have to make a proper week out of it, because there’s no point in just going over for the day and coming home!

“It’s the dream really, to have a runner at Cheltenham. We’re not there yet, but we’re on the way to it.”

Fittingly, thoughts of future horses bring our conversation back to where it started. “There’s been a little mention of maybe buying a summer horse because this fella only wants soft ground. I’d imagine a few more lads locally might want to get involved, so it’s a possibility.

“You wouldn’t know what could happen after a few pints!”