How did you get into ownership?

We were always taken racing as children and my mother Ann Magee and family were heavily involved in racing. Two of her brothers were jockeys; Jimmy rode Irish Coffee in the Grand National in 1961 and completed the course, hard going in those days and Sean was a work rider. Trainer Frank Oakes is a cousin of my mother. I married Riona Hourihane and her father Bertie from West Cork, a vet, was a keen racing man and an owner so that kept the flame alive.

I didn’t get into ownership until my family, business and community were well established. I began to get involved with various syndicates over the years and became a member of the McAlpine Syndicate. We had a good horse in training with Noel Meade, Sam Bass. He won the Juvenile 3-Y-O Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Hatton’s Grace day at Fairyhouse in 2011 which was pretty exciting but sadly was killed the following December at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting.

Your best day at the races?

A friend of mine, Dave McEvoy, was home from Australia and maybe we had a bit too merry a New Year’s Eve but we decided to buy a two-year-old filly. I really liked her, she was by Finsceal Fior and we got her for small money. The filly was sent to Willie Browne in Fethard to be broken. He didn’t think much of her. She went into training with Tony Martin who didn’t think much of her either but I really liked her and we decided to give her a shot. High Street Lady duly won second time out in March 2018 at Dundalk, she won going away, beating one of Joseph O’Brien’s with the hot-favourite Weld runner for Moyglare Chateau La Fleur, third.

That was the first for the TCD Partnership, the shares split between myself, my brother-in-law, David Hourihane, Dave McEvoy and his brother-in-law Tom Lenihan. The win was a fantastic surprise but she didn’t go unbacked! From where she came from it was a marvellous day. She was a feisty chesnut filly and we persisted with her and we got a result. After that she went off the boil and she never went on but that’s the game.

The biggest drawback for an owner?

It’s not a cheap game but I was very careful to go into partnerships in a small way until I could afford more. Every day as an owner has a cost. But if you love to go racing there is no better incentive to get involved once your financial situation is stable.

Which racecourse in Ireland treats owners the best and why?

They have got better everywhere. Owners are more respected now especially during Covid and hopefully post Covid, everyone will be glad to see us.

Something we appreciate is guest tickets. The current TCD Partnership has six of us and most wives like to come racing too so the guest tickets are appreciated. And then we are all together if our horse wins!

Flat or jumps which do you prefer?

Probably the flat because it is summer racing. To see a two-year-old or three-year-old turned out to race in the sun, they look so well.

What the partnership is really looking for is a dual-purpose horse in the 45-65 bracket. It gives us more opportunity to race and we can be competitive.

What do you look for in a trainer?

I have experience of big trainers’ operations. My father-in-law Bertie had some successful horses with Willie Mullins. Among them was Laws Of Spin who won the Irish Cesarewitch in 2016.

But I prefer to send my horses to a small trainer; unless people support small trainers the game will fold. Tony Martin is an excellent trainer and an excellent horseman. The horses get the best of care and being near we can go up there when we like. He keeps us informed of the horse’s progress and immediately tells if something is wrong. He’s not just taking our money.

I’m involved in the Meath & West Syndicate who own Treble Cone and local Trim man Gerry Keane trains him; he won at Leopardstown in 2019 and Cork in 2020. Tom Gibney is another excellent Trim-based trainer. They deserve respect. Give them a good horse and they will produce the results.

The locals support me and my business and I support my local trainers – that’s my philosophy.

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

Irish tracks have upped their game. If you have a winner it’s very pleasing to be given a photo and brought in somewhere for a celebratory drink.

At Navan, Naas and the Curragh, Eddie Moran is a top-class host at all three.

How do you think the current crisis will impact on racing in general?

Racing is an outlet for owners in times of trouble. The pandemic doesn’t appear to have affected the trade in thoroughbreds if you look at the sales results. I went to the Orby Sale in October. It was incredible to see the prices – a lot of American buyers there. It’s great to see the business. But post pandemic the tracks will have to work hard to attract people back in numbers. Being an outside activity helps of course.

Significance of your colours?

Huge significance! I used to play football and hurling with the Trim GAA club and the club has been part of me and my family all my life. My good friend Tom Lenihan also played and is a lifetime supporter of Trim GAA. Red and white are the club’s colours. The Meath & West Syndicate colours are red/white and so are my father-in-law’s Bertie Hourihane.

Your syndicate’s name?

The TCD Partnership first came together using our initials when we bought High Street Lady. Current members are Tom Lenihan and myself, John Byrne, Noel McCarton, David Kennedy and Sean O’Keeffe.

What do you look for in a horse?

We like to try to find a solid dual-purpose horse to race on the flat and over jumps. Ideally we would like to buy a two-year-old filly, but the prices are prohibitive.

What horses do you currently have ?

Marvel Fan and a share in Treble Cone.

What’s next on the agenda?

Treble Cone is put away for the winter and will race in the spring.

Marvel Fan will be entered in a novice handicap at Leopardstown on December 26th. She had a wind operation in the summer and we left her off until she came back and won at Gowran in November. We didn’t leave 40/1 behind, and it was another brilliant day.

What do you do with your racehorses when their racing days are over?

High Street Lady was sold on. After Marvel Fan is retired she could go on to be a broodmare.

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

The programme is getting there, but there are so many horses all wanting to compete. Dundalk is a great help.

Come the end of the season, and those big handicaps at Punchestown, they are dominated by two or three top trainers. That should be limited to three horses per top trainer. There are equally good people in smaller yards as in bigger yards. What a blacktype or graded horse does for a small trainer is immeasurable. I’m a small business man myself so I know all about it.

What advice would you give to a potential owner?

Think long and hard about it – nothing needs to suffer in your life, neither family nor business, if you go into a horse.

There are so many variables. My son David and I went with Marvel Fan to Ballinrobe and the sun was splitting the sky, and she likes a cut. We took Treble Cone, who likes it good, to Cork in June and it was yielding. Be ready for these things which out of your control; you don’t always get what you hope for.

Remember three things: 1. It’s hard to get a horse to the track, 2. It’s hard to be competitive, 3. It’s impossible to win.

But it’s such a joy when it comes off.