How did you get involved with horse racing?

We always had half-bred horses at home, and my father was into greyhound racing, so we went there with him a lot as children. My mother knew a very good jockey in England called John Burke, so we used to follow him. He won the Gold Cup and the Aintree Grand National in one year in 1976.

He had about 200 winners in England and that’s what really got me interested in racing. It was the year I was doing my Inter Cert and, if anything about John had come up in my exams, I’d have got honours!

When I was in school, Listowel would only be on for three days, so the school would close and we’d all go racing. We’d have all of our money saved up to go gambling, but that’s not allowed for children any more! It was better than Christmas!

I’ve always been self-employed, and always said that when I turned 40, I’d buy a thoroughbred and a greyhound. The greyhound didn’t work out too well, but the horses have worked out fine.

Knockbrack Vic was my first foal, and I still have her. For her first run, and my first runner, we took her to a point-to-point in Dromahane and she won. She was a lucky mare for me on the track. Philip Enright won on her, so it was great for him to win on her son, Knockbrack Rambler. Life is for living, it’s not a rehearsal, it’s the real thing so we have to enjoy it.

I’ve been chairman of the pony racing here in Abbeyfeale for a good few years. It’s great for the young jockeys and I wish we could get some more support. It’s a great grounding to get them going.

We have races on the pony racing circuit for trainers that had less than five winners the previous season and everyone has been delighted with it. It would be great to see something like that happen in horse racing for the smaller trainers.

How much did it mean to have a winner at your local track?

Winning in Listowel was as good to me as winning the Lotto with the reception we got after. I’m from Knockbrack in Abbeyfeale, so Knockbrack Rambler has a bit of a following locally, and that was clear with the reception we got. He got the biggest cheer of the day. My friends all came to support us, so I’d like to thank them for the great reception, and my wife Mary, who has always supported me.

There’s a couple of friends who always come racing with me, every day that we have a runner. They’re not always successful, but they’ll still come with me. You have to make the most of the good days, because they don’t come often. We went straight back to our local pub in Abbeyfeale afterwards! We had a big night, and we would have had a big night even if we’d lost! It’s an unbelievable feeling to win with a horse that you’ve bred.

Did you have that race in Listowel mapped out for a while?

The ground this year has been so bad, we couldn’t get anything to suit him. I knew all along that we needed better ground, so we were lucky that it came right for Listowel. He just needs a little give in the ground, not too hard or too soft. We always knew he’d win a chase, and hopefully he’ll win a few more.

Tell me about your trainer, Brendan Walsh.

Brendan trains in Doneraile, only an hour away from me. It’s a family-run business between Brendan and his wife Rose. His sons both ride as amateurs and they all work very hard. They’re always happy for us to drop in to the yard any time, we don’t have to make an appointment. They have a fantastic gallops. They had a double that week in Listowel, so hopefully it keeps going. People don’t realise the amount of work that trainers and their families put in. They deal with each of their horses individually.

What’s the plan with Knockbrack Rambler now?

We’ll let him off now until around September and then we’ll come back chasing again. He’s not a summer horse. I’ll have to discuss it with Brendan. I take his advice, always. Whatever he says, we’ll go with that.

Do you normally breed to race or to sell?

I’d always sell. I have no mare in foal at the moment though. You’d really need a good mare with good blacktype to be going to the sales now. When you’re taking a foal to the sales all you can hope for is that they get a good home. The fillies don’t make as much as the colts, but there are a lot of good races for fillies and mares now.

I’ve been thinking about buying a blacktype mare for breeding, or about buying a few three-year-olds and forming a syndicate. There are a few syndicates here in Abbeyfeale, so it would be great to get more people involved. You wouldn’t want to be in it thinking you’re going to be a millionaire. It’s an expensive game, so we have to sacrifice some things for racing, but we just prioritise it in our budget.