When did you get into racehorse ownership?

In 1995, I was working in the prison service and we had an internal magazine, The Prison Officer, which was distributed throughout the various institutions in Ireland. An officer in Portlaoise placed an advertisement in the magazine looking for expressions of interest from staff into forming a horse racing syndicate. An initial meeting of 24 staff took place in the Derby House Hotel in Kildare town and following on a committee was elected, a constitution was drafted with help from other racing clubs in Ireland, and arrangements were put in place for deductions to be made from salary to finance the club. The weekly deduction was initially 20 Irish pounds which started in October 1995. That was never increased in the intervening 26 years and was converted to Euro and now our members’ deductions are made via bank standing order and cost €110.00 per calendar month.

Over the years we had various members leave for personal reasons and today we have 13 members in the Sport Racing Club, and 11 of the 13 have been there from the very beginning in 1995.

The original name selected for the club was Syndicate of Prison Officers’ Racing Team, written as S.P.O.R.T and that was later changed by common usage to Sport Racing Club. While all the members were employed in the prison service, the club never represented the prison service in any official capacity. We were and are a private racing club whose members just happened to share a common employment. Twelve of the 13 members retired from the service over the intervening years.

What was you best day at the races?

Our first runner was a filly called Masriyna, trained by Willie Mullins. She ran on the old Dundalk Racecourse, her jockey was James Nash. She was placed but injured herself pulling up and she never raced again unfortunately. She turned out to be a good broodmare and her progeny include Masriyna’s Article who won a bumper for us in November 2003. Masriyna’s Article went on to produce other winners, notably Takeyourcapoff and Peregrine Run.

Our next runner was by far and away our best horse, Micko’s Dream. We sourced him through the sales via Martin Brassil and eventually he moved to Willie Mullins for training. Willie spotted him in a field where he was out on summer grass. He was an unnamed Buckskin gelding when we bought him. One of our members, Mick O’Hehir from Cork was an avid racing supporter and he had plans in place to dress in style for the horse’s racecourse debut. Unfortunately, Mick contracted cancer and passed away before the horse was mature enough to race. The club named the horse Micko’s Dream in memory of Mick O’Hehir and his share was passed onto his wife Elsie who remained a member for a few years afterwards.

Micko’s Dream eventually made his debut in a bumper in Clonmel in February 1998. He was ridden by a young 19-year-old man, Mr. R. Walsh (yes, the same Ruby Walsh) who was attached to Willie Mullins’ yard. The horse won by a neck at odds of 2/1. We had some celebrations afterwards in the Clonmel Arms hotel where the video of the race was played in the hotel bar many times and we cheered him across the line every time. It was a most memorable day for all club members.

Micko’s Dream went on to have amazing success on the track. He raced 34 times all distances, winning 14 races and being placed 10 more times. His big wins included the Thyestes Chase, the Leopardstown Chase, the EBF Novice handicap Chase, Irish Independent Chase, the Dan Moore Handicap Chase, the Fortria Chase, the Red Mills Chase and the Callan Chase. He even ran in the Grand National won by Papillon, unfortunately fell at the first but completed the course, third past the post!

Three of those races, the Callan Chase, Independent Chase and Dan Moore Handicap Chase were won over 18 days in 2001, (April 18th, April 24th and May 4th) His last race was in November 2001 in Clonmel where he finished second but picked up a career-ending injury in the process and we eventually lost him in January 2002.

On the day of his first race, as we had 24 members, we were restricted to four members in the parade ring pre-race. Everyone wanted to know what Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh would say about his chances as they wanted to hit the on-course bookies before the general public did so.

In those days Willie Mullins was not the powerhouse trainer he has since become where his bumper runners are mostly odds-on favourites. We had agreed that one of our members in the ring, Jim Hally, would take off his cap if we got positive vibes from Willie and Ruby. It all fell into place, we got the word, the cap came off, the members headed for the bookies pitches and the money was down. Thinking of a name for one of our other homebred horses a few years later we called her Takeyourcapoff, a follow-up to the Clonmel coup.

The biggest drawback about being an owner?

We bred a few foals over the years and we purchased a few store horses too. Our luck was mixed - two Fourstars Allstar geldings purchased for big money proved a bitter disappointment on the track, as did a few more of our investments.

As Charlie McCreevy once said, if you want to end up with a million pounds from racehorse ownership, start with two million pounds. Luck in buying, and luck in running are very important factors.

We had a nice win with Timeforwest (a leased horse) who won the Betway Chase in Cork in April 2019. We also had a winner on the flat in Limerick in July 2020, Stellaire Enfant at odds of 22/1. She was also leased. Unfortunately owing to Covid restrictions none of us were allowed to attend the race so we watched our horse winning in our colours on our TV sets at home. No buzz, no photos, no presentation, just like watching any other winner on the day.

What improvements would you like to see for owners?

As a racing club, it is only in recent years that things have improved for us on the racecourses. We were limited to four gate passes for many years even though we had 24 members, but now we have 13 members and can order extra guest admissions for any member attending.

In the early days it was only a winning owner who got any sort of hospitality, but now we get four meal vouchers at most racecourses which is a very welcome improvement, but it still means that if more than four of us attend it is awkward trying to decide who can avail of the vouchers.

Any club/syndicate with under 20 members should all be treated equally at the turnstiles. The owners are the people who pay all the bills to get a horse to the track so it is only right that they see recognition for their financial input.

Buying a horse, what do you look for?

From a financial perspective, having 13 members’ subscriptions just about pays the training fees so unless we have a winner we are limited in what we can do regarding buying. Over recent years most of our horses have been leased with the plan that they go back to their owners as (hopefully) winning broodmares. It is a win-win situation, we get the horse without having to buy her, we get the thrill of racing, the chance of winning or being placed, we get any prize money, we get the photos and the presentation, and the owner, for no financial outlay, is handed back a winning broodmare.

Significance of your colours?

The Sport Racing Club colours, which we have for life, are red with white chevron, halved sleeves, red cap with white star. Two members from Cork were asked to select colours and it was no surprise that they chose the Cork colours.

What’s next on the agenda?

Clonmoyle ran in the Close Brothers Irish EBF Mares’ Handicap Chase at Punchestown on Thursday (finished fifth). That’s as tough a test as she’s had off a hectic pace. She is very genuine and finished out her race. Peter (Fahey) said she had a good blow and he’s happy and we’ll find some nice summer races for her.

The buzz is back among the club, 11 out of the 13 of us attended and we had a great day out.

How do you feel about racing in the future?

Clonmoyle won at Tramore on the students’ raceday – not for the fainthearted when you are a bit older. But it gets young people in the gate and hopefully some will become lifetime fans.

It’s so difficult for the tracks because they have to provide the same infrastructure on a cold wintery day with no one there as they do for a major festival day. It’s so great to see these big attendances at festival meetings. I’m confident racing will survive - it’s something Ireland is good at and that is recognised worldwide.

What advice would you give to someone on ownership?

Don’t go in thinking you’ll make money but you will have good days with your friends. The buzz of leading in your winner and the presentation, it’s something you treasure forever.