How did you get into racehorse ownership?

Our 85-year-old mother Catherine, who’s the boss of the syndicate, grew up with horses and after many years without horses bought Solar Jet from Hugh Ryan in Kilkenny to breed from.

We raced her daughter Solar Quest and then raced her offspring Cool Quest, Mill Quest, Realta Mo Croi and a colt we couldn’t sell Glenquest, who gave us some great days out including finishing third in the Welsh National and second in the Troytown Chase.

We normally sell the colts and race the fillies and try to improve our stock.

Racing gives our mother great satisfaction as she watches At The Races every day and she gets a great kick if a runner she has bred is running or does well. Mill Quest is known to the locals as ‘Cathy’s horse’.

What was your best day at the races and why?

When Mill Quest won at Cork a couple of weeks ago. (Battle Of The GAA Clubs Mares Handicap Hurdle, July 13th).

That day has to be up there because the local GAA club sponsored the raceday and a lot of our neighbours, relations and friends were there that evening and made it a great occasion, which racing should be about. Araglen is in Co Cork, the GAA Pitch is where the three counties - Cork, Waterford and Tipperary - meet.

Another special day was Glenquest finishing third in the Welsh Grand National (2014) and the lads from home ran a bus to Leopardstown and some were seen dancing on tables! That’s what it means to a small locality.

What is the biggest drawback about being a racehorse owner?

The costs can be prohibitive and when horses get injured it can be very disappointing.

In your experience, which racecourse in Ireland treats owners the best and why?

It’s between Cork and Punchestown, both have treated us very well. Punchestown has good facilities for kids, while the team at Cork went out of their way to look after our large contigent.

They even gave a DVD of the race to our mother, who’s not into smartphones or laptops, and that was very much appreciated.

Flat or jump racing, which do you prefer and why?

Jumps racing, by a country mile. There’s a lot more fun over jumps and craic with the jumps people, something you don’t tend to see as much of on the flat.

The smaller owner/breeder has a better opportunity of competing in and winning the bigger races.

What qualities do you look for in a trainer?

Honesty, a good communicator and good training facilities. We’ve been lucky to have been involved with some great trainers like Terence O’Brien, Stuart Crawford, Gordon Elliott and Neil Mulholland.

What improvements would you like to see racecourses in Ireland do for owners?

Offer more passes on racedays.

In Britain, you can get up to 10, whereas in Ireland they only offer four. There should be more passes available for larger syndicates.

How do you feel owners are treated when not having a winner?

They could do a lot more. For example, when Glenquest ran in Kelso we were treated to dinner and drinks.

What significance do your colours hold?

Green is the colour of our local GAA club Araglen, which all our family are involved in, and our mother picked the purple star.

How did your syndicate get its name?

Coolmohan is our townland and Araglen is the village where we are from so Coolglen is a mix of those two names.

When buying a horse, what do you look for?

A good, strong individual with an honest head and a good walker.

What horses do you currently have in training?

Apart from Mill Quest, we have her Kalanisi half-sister who’s going back in with Terence O’Brien in the autumn and a Court Cave half-sister to Dursey Sound with Neil Mulholland, all bred on the home farm.

What’s next on the agenda for your horses?

Mill Quest is entered at Downpatrick on Sunday.

Have you any horses to look forward to? (i.e. young/unbroken horses)

We have a Presenting filly out of Cool Quest and a Leading Light filly out of our Westerner mare Realta Mo Croi.

What would help to make Irish racing more competitive for the smaller owner/trainer?

A better chance of making the cut for the bigger handicaps. Perhaps there should be a limit on the number of runners an owner or trainer can have in the bigger races.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming a racehorse owner?

Have very deep pockets because there are a lot of lean days! But there are also some great days, especially when you have neighbours, friends and relations involved.

Nine car-loads travelled from Araglen to Galway to watch Mill Quest run and there was a great buzz and cheering when she finished second.

It was great for a small locality like Araglen – a farming area where horses have been bred for many years – to be represented at one of the bigger festivals.

Billy Kenneally was in conversation with Olivia Hamilton