How did you get involved in racing?

I was always interested in racing. I remember years ago going to a point-to-point with my father when I was only a chap. I picked out a horse and put half a crown on him and he won at a bit of a price, so I was hooked from there on! We’ve been involved in a few syndicates, here and there. Our Vinnie was one of them, trained by Charles Byrnes to win two Grade 3s. I got involved in one or two small shares with Aubrey McMahon from Temple Bloodstock, he’s a lovely man. We’re only breeding two mares now, Annie B, and a well-bred Dansili mare.

Tell us about Down The Glen’s dam, Annie B.

We gave a good few pound for Annie B as a foal, with the idea of pinhooking her in Newmarket as a yearling. We brought her to Newmarket and there was no interest in her. We brought her home and sent her to John Oxx, and she wasn’t showing him anything. We’d put so much money into her I said to my wife Nancy, who appears on the racecard as Anna Mary Kehoe, that we should try sending her to Joseph O’Brien’s. She was only down there for a week when Joseph called up and told us she needed her wind done. We got that done, and she ran as a three-year-old, finishing third on her first start in Dundalk. We were delighted! She ran again a week later and finished second, and then won a maiden by four lengths in Dundalk. We pulled the plug on her after that and decided to breed from her. Down The Glen was her first foal. It’s a long road but it looks like she might repay us. Annie B is boarding at Ballyfrory Stud in Wexford, and Martina Doran looks after the foals. Down The Glen was born and raised there before he went racing, so we owe it all to Martina.

Do you breed mainly to sell or to race?

Mainly, we’d be hoping to sell one or two to keep the wheels turning. We put the Blue Point through the ring at the Orby, and she might have made 70 or 80 grand, but we thought we’d rather roll the dice with her. We’re getting on a bit so we’d rather enjoy our horses and run them. It’s an expensive game to keep them in training.

Would you say the costs are the most difficult part of ownership?

There’s no doubt. Prize money doesn’t match the investment for owners to put horses into training. Days like we had in Galway make it all worthwhile though.

How did you get involved with your trainer, Ross O’Sullivan?

Ross is a lovely man to be involved with. We had Club Manager with Gavin Cromwell, but when they were bringing in the races that certain bigger trainers wouldn’t have been able to run in, which they scrapped in the end, we decided to move him in case we couldn’t run. Ross had a few winners at Galway and he came on my radar then. I’ve had horses with different trainers over the years, but I’ve never come across a trainer like Ross. He keeps us so involved in our horses, with jockey bookings or choosing races. It’s nice to have a say in the horse’s career. I don’t know where a horse should run or what jockey would suit him best, but it’s nice to have the opportunity to have a say in it. Some trainers can be a little bit aloof from the ordinary man, but Ross is super. I’d highly recommend him.

Were you confident in your chances at Galway?

I’d say I was more hopeful than confident. He had ran well in Bellewstown, and Shane Foley was happy with how he’d ran. We were hopeful that the soft ground at Galway would suit him, and it did. I was delighted for Donagh (O’Connor, jockey) to win on him, as he rode him in his barrier trial and a few nurseries. He gave him a lovely ride, waiting for the gaps to open in the straight.

I nearly didn’t go to Galway because we had a runner over hurdles in Wexford, Club Manager. He finished second 20 minutes after Down The Glen had won! I was delighted that I went to Galway in the end. It was a brilliant day. People don’t understand how great it is to have a winner unless they’re involved. I was shouting my head off in the parade ring. People were looking at me wondering what was wrong but I didn’t care! It was an unbelievable feeling when he passed the line. We’re still buzzing now. We must have watched the replay three or four times that night.

What’s the plan for him going forward?

He’ll be gelded and put away for the winter now for his three-year-old career. Believe it or not, Ross was saying after the race that he could be one for the Galway Festival next year. He also said that he might jump a hurdle in time! We have two half-sisters at home. One of them is by Blue Point and she’s just broken and started riding. She’s a little bit small, but she won’t be a two-year-old until next April so hopefully she’ll grow a bit. We’ll probably send her to Ross around December or January.

Was it special to have a winner with a homebred?

Yeah, it made it much more special. Martina isn’t far away from us at home, so we’d have been up and down the road going to see him as a foal. He’d nearly take the hand off you if you were giving him a few nuts! You have all of those memories of him as he grew and developed, so it was great to see him win.