How did you get involved with horse racing?

My mother was a show jumper. She was junior and young rider individual and team gold medalist. She competed in Nations Cups in the same era as Harvey Smith. My father was a Master of Foxhounds with the Kildares in the 1980s, so it felt quite serendipitous riding a winner at the Curragh. My uncle and godfather was Josh Gifford, champion jockey and he trained a Grand National winner. When I was still at school, my father took me to ride out for Geoff Lewis. Geoff really became like a mentor to me. He really taught me how to ride racehorses. As a child, going to Josh’s and walking around evening stables with him was quite inspirational. When I was still at school, my father took me to ride out at Goeff Lewis’. Geoff really became my mentor and taught me how to ride race horses. We spent so much time discussing horses, as he was a very intuitive and sympathetic towards them, watching races and how jockeys rode, it was a bit like Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero With A Thousand Faces that George Lucas based Star Wars on. Campbell wrote about the lost, young man who meets his mentor and is called to adventure. Luke Skywalker met Obi Wan Kenobi, Harry Potter met Dumbledore. Geoff was that for me. The inspiration from Geoff is what really drew me to racing.

When did ownership come into the picture?

My professional life was always mapped out for me, in that I’m now the CEO of a third-generation family business. Whilst my passion was horse racing, from a young age I always knew that the family business was my future. When I was younger I rode for other owners, did the Fegentri World Championship, but then I went back to University and Law School before working in The City. I continued to ride in France in my 20s as they have a strong programme for Gentlemen Riders. I took my father’s place at Coldunell unexpectedly when I was 29 and so really didn’t have much time to ride in my 30’s. The only way to do it was to ride was on my own horses. I tried to continue to ride over hurdles and fences but did so in hindsight for too long. As Aristotle wrote ‘Excellence is not an act, it’s a habit.’ I just wasn’t doing enough. Charlie Munger once said ‘All skills attenuate with disuse!’.

How did purchasing Sirius come about?

I took a hiatus from riding in 2019; We had Covid in 2020, my wife and I had our son Wolfie in 2021, who is now four and riding his pony, and I went to Columbia Business School in 2022/23 alongside my work. I missed racing a lot. I was watching Mark Cavendish make his comeback with cycling; It was slow at first and then he did really well. I thought if I can come back, let’s make a list of the races I’d like to try and win. The number one on that list was the GPT at Galway. Having had horses with Willie (Mullins) and a good relationship with the whole family, I thought Willie is the obvious man to try to do that with. There was an Arqana sale at the Arc meeting, so I got in touch with Willie and Harold (Kirk). Willie, Harold and I all really liked Sirius before the sale and she was trained by Nicholas Clement, who they had bought Limini from. To win last year at Galway and the Irish Amateur Derby this year is more than I could reasonably have dreamt of. The days, weeks and months of work by all involved I am very grateful for. I’m very fortunate to be the guy who just does the five minutes in the saddle at the end. The skill and industry of Willie and all at Closutton is always deeply impressive.

Do you feel much pressure riding your own horses?

I’m very conscious that I don’t I don’t want to let the team down. When you don’t ride that frequently, you know that you are going to be predisposed to inconsistency. When I was making my comeback I used to ask myself, ‘Am I good enough to be on a racecourse?’. I try to prepare as well as I can in every way but want to keep improving.

How do you prepare for race-riding?

Gary and Josh Moore are about half an hour away, so I ride out for them once or twice a week. I have a gym at home so I train for at least an hour and a half every day; running, cycling, rowing, weights, heavy punch bag and the mechanical horse. When you aren’t riding as much as the people you’re competing against, you owe it to yourself to not let fitness be the reason you can’t be as competitive. Having the discipline to be in good shape, challenge yourself day in, day out, to do your homework before the race, it all gives you confidence and the more consistent you hope to become. As Tom Sizemore’s character in Michael Mann’s great movie Heat says, ‘For me, the action is the juice.’

What are the differences riding in Ireland and Britain?

You very quickly realise that they ride a lot tighter in Ireland than they do in Britain. Martin Pipe changed National Hunt racing and nearly every race became run at a very strong gallop, so tactics and position were slightly less of a premium than they were in Ireland. The ground is softer in Ireland so you have to save energy. In Ireland you have to adapt to settling horses, because you’re going slower at the start of the race, where as in Britain, there’s not such a demand. You saw it by comparing how Ruby Walsh and Davy Russell could beautifully settle horses compared to AP McCoy and Dickie Johnson who were very forward in their riding on a shorter rein. With jockeys riding tighter in Ireland, you’ve got to be able to adapt very quickly. That’s when you look at Ryan Moore, you realise that he is the best flat jockey in the world, because of his ability to adapt to every country he’s riding in, and ride as well as, if not better, than the locals. In France, if you kick too soon, it’s a ridiculous way to ride. To kick too soon and then walk home from the last, or get tired in the last furlong, you haven’t given the horse every opportunity, because you’ve fired all of your bullets coming out of the back straight. That’s one of the things I like about riding in Ireland, it helps you to ride patiently and to keep the horse travelling on the bridle as long as possible.

Have you got any other horses in training?

I’ve got three with Gary and Josh at the moment. A homebred called Edward Sexton who won a bumper in the spring. Warning Sign who won the two amateur races at Sandown, which was very special for me as it’s my home course, and then Sagano who won the Gentleman Riders’s race in Deauville in August on his first race back after nearly losing him in 2023. I’ve been really lucky this year with all four horses winning. I just think of the contributions of the yard staff, grooms, riders, vets, physios, farriers, secretaries, box drivers and trainers themselves. I’m not sure how they tolerate my madness, left field ideas and relentless quest for adventure at times! As Samuel Beckett wrote, ‘We are all born mad. Some remain so.’