How did your interest in horse racing come about?

I only lived about seven miles from Kilbeggan. I used to cycle over with my mother and father. In the middle of the track you’d have the funfair, the galleries, the boys doing the three card tricks, a chip van, an ice cream van, all that sort of craic. That was my first introduction to horse racing and I never looked back. Getting up close to the horses and seeing them flying over fences was what made me fall in love with the game. I’m MC’ing now in Kilbeggan and I really enjoy that.

You are involved with two syndicates, firstly tell us about the lads involved with Good Man Turk

That all started about four years ago, a few of us got together. Michael Duignan, current chairman of Offaly GAA, and former Taoiseach Brian Cowen were involved. Unfortunately, Brian hasn’t been well over the last few years and is no longer part of the syndicate. But we kept the remains of that syndicate. We bought a horse about two years ago called Good Man Turk. He’s with Matthew Smith and there are eight of us involved with him. He’s finished second twice and we’re hoping this year he might pick up a couple of races. He seems to be versatile and has a good mark in both hurdles and chases.

You’re also involved in a syndicate called the Little Town Syndicate?

Yeah locally where I live in Clara, Dolan’s pub has set up the Little Town Syndicate. The bloodstock agent Tom Malone and Dessie Dolan (former Westmeath player) are involved in that one. They have acquired a horse called Ashton Court who is now in training with Gordon Elliott. A nine-year-old who had nice form with Shark Hanlon a few years back. He’s got a nice rating so we are hoping to exploit his mark.

So tell us about the Giddy Up racing club

The racing club idea came from Anthony Cunningham, former Galway hurling manager. He and one of his selectors, Peter Tormey, set it all up. We are looking for somewhere between 30 and 40 members. We have 27 paid-up at the moment. So we are looking for more lads to get involved. We have acquired a half-sister to Gerri Colombe out of Walk In The Park so we are excited about that. We also have a three-year-old filly called Summer Snow for the flat season. Both horses are with Ross O’Sullivan. We want to make the club as social as possible so we have a WhatsApp group for GAA and racing tips. If you join up we will have loads of great days out at race meetings as well as visits to training yards and most importantly, great GAA banter.

Where did the name “Giddy Up” come from?

The name came from the Paddy Power app. When you get a winner it comes up on your phone as “giddy up”. That’s where we got the idea.

What qualities do you look for in a trainer?

Ollie Ryan who’s involved with the Good Man Turk syndicate had great success with Matthew Smith through One Cool Poet. Matthew has also had success with Ronald Pump getting close to Honeysuckle. So in him, we see a good young enthusiastic up-and-coming trainer. Ross O’Sullivan is a very friendly approachable fella. Very good setup as well. Personally, I like trainers that are sure of their plans for their horses. That they can exploit a horse’s handicap mark. It’s also nice to be kept in the loop on how things are going with your horse. Even if it’s just a WhatsApp every week or second week.

What improvements or initiatives do you think could be introduced to racing in to entice more people to get involved in racehorse ownership? They’ve done some phenomenal work in promoting races for inexperienced jockeys. There are a lot of races particularly in the summer for jockeys who haven’t ridden in more than 15 races a year. Maybe the HRI could look at something similar for owners. Maybe set up races for horses that haven’t cost more than 30 or 40 thousand. It would give owners who spend smaller amounts of money on horses a better chance of having a winner.

You yourself have a strong connection with GAA and so does the racing club Giddy Up. Do you think there is a strong link between the two sports?

The link between the two is massive. I was fortunate enough to ref All-Ireland Hurling finals. No matter what racetrack I go to, someone will want to have a chat about GAA with you. You are seeing more and more clubs and syndicates formed that are GAA orientated. The Big Dog’s owners are all GAA heads. Look at how well Gowran Park does on race days, it’s nearly all a GAA crowd that goes to that.

When will your horses run next?

Ashton Court (Local Town Syndicate) is ready to go (entered for Navan on Saturday and Wexford on Sunday, at the time of writing.) The Gerri Colombe horse (Giddy Up) is probably about four-six weeks away from running. Summer Snow (also Giddy Up) will be something similar in terms of a time frame. And Good Man Turk is about two months away.

Do you think the current cost of living crisis impacts racehorse ownership?

Naturally enough yeah, but I think people’s mentality has changed regarding spending. You don’t see lads down the pub every night of the week anymore. People will go for a meal now and maybe a few drinks and go home early. So I don’t think generally people are spending like they used to on the social aspects of life. Lads like ourselves go racing and that’s our social outlet. I think if you have a few pounds for it it’s a great social outlet. Much better than being in the pub every night that’s for sure.

Have you got any advice for anyone who is thinking of getting into ownership?

It’s amazing the buzz you get when your horse turns into the straight with a chance. You get so very attached to these horses. It becomes the topic of conversation then everywhere you go. It’s great for seven or eight lads to come together and have a bit of craic with it. So to anyone who’s thinking about it my advice would be to take that leap and do it.

You can join the Giddy Up Racing Club for €400 all in for 2023. To join email anthonycunni@gmail.com or DM your name and number to @coach_finder.