THERE are no guarantees in the bloodstock industry. Genetics and environment count for so much but not everything. Two of Joe Osborne’s sisters – “the clever ones” – have absolutely nothing to do with horses. Yet he, his brother John (former CEO of Irish National Stud and current CEO of HRI’s racecourse division) and sister Meta (the first female senior steward of the Turf Club, equine vet and owner of Tinnakill Stud with husband Dermot Cantillon) are immersed in it.

Joe has followed the path trodden by his late father Michael most closely, though he was, like Meta, a senior steward of the Turf Club too. Michael established Kildangan Stud as Sheikh Mohammed’s breeding base in Ireland in 1986 and was the Sheikh’s right-hand man for 20 years. Joe is managing director at Kildangan now and in June was appointed group chief executive of Godolphin. He sat down at Goffs last week to tell us how he is getting on.