WHEN we contacted Anthony Kearns for a chat this week he had just finished singing for the residents of a nursing home in Firhouse, Co Dublin, and was on his way to another one in Drumcondra.

Anthony is one of The Irish Tenors and has been based in the USA for over 20 years now. His audiences have included President Barack Obama and Pope Francis. But all that is on hold at the moment and Anthony is keeping himself busy by providing entertainment for the elderly.

“I’m part of the Covid Care Concerts that are happening at residential care centres all over Ireland. It’s a great initiative set up by Gerald Peregrine and the Mobile Music Company. We do two concerts a day, one at 11am and one at 2pm. Hail, rain or shine, we perform outdoors and the residents open their windows to listen. Sometimes there is a courtyard or a sliding door the residents can open.”

Stunned by this unexpected story of kindness, we ask if, by any chance, Anthony at least got moved up the list for a vaccine? “Actually I was offered one but I didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. But it’s great that more and more of our ‘audience’ are now vaccinated.”

It’s official: this man is a saint.

Colin Bowe

However, we all have a weakness and Anthony loves racehorses. He never had an option really, growing up in Kiltealy, Co Wexford, where his schoolmates included Colin Bowe.

Ironically, Anthony only got into racehorse ownership through Ronan Tynan, another member of The Irish Tenors and a noted breeder. “Ronan introduced me to racehorses about 20 years ago – we bought a horse to race for The Irish Tenors. Actually, I will tell you a funny story. We were offered a greyhound first. Finbarr Wright’s [singer] wife worked for Bord na gCon and she told us about a dog for sale but we turned it down. That greyhound turned out to be Late Late Show. He was owned by Pat Kenny and turned out to be worth about €500,000.”

Needless to say, the horse didn’t fare as well.

But Anthony and Ronan were not discouraged and shared a few winners over the years. They won three races with Lily Of Killarney, and then Ronan offered Anthony that filly’s unraced half-sister by Gold Well. Anthony named her Mt Leinster Gold, after the mountain in Kiltealy, and he gave her to his old school pal to train.

Winning streak

Also a half-sister to Troytown Chase winner Balbriggan, she won three of her four starts in point-to-points before going to the track last month and making a winning debut in a Fairyhouse maiden hurdle. Any owner with a mare like that would be forgiven for sticking out their chest and talking about big targets, but not Anthony.

“We’ve had great fun so far but she hasn’t really been tested. Colin will know where to place her. He does well with mares. Remember, he won eight hurdle races with Little King Robin. Maybe Colin will find a race for her over Easter, there’s no real plan. We’ve minded her like a baby and we will breed from her when she’s finished racing. That’s why I like fillies – there’s always a Plan B.”

Anthony says he is in racing for sport, not business, but by winning at Fairyhouse, Mt Leinster Gold earned him an extra €5,000 through the Weatherbys ITBA National Hunt Fillies Scheme. “Someone in Horse Racing Ireland suggested I put her in the scheme, so I paid the couple of hundred euro, and I am glad I did now. It paid off and it was a nice bonus to get.”

Stressful time

Looking ahead, Anthony would like to see point-to-points resume before too long. “Within a four kilometre radius of where I am from in Wexford, there are hundreds of horses in need of a run. They are rearing to get out and it must be a very stressful time for the people who own and train them.”

Personally, he is hoping to get back on tour in the US and back to the races. “Tampa Bay [in Florida] is my local track. I’ve also performed at the Pegasus Gold Cup in Gulfstream, the Breeders’ Cup and the Maryland Millions. Sometimes his work and his hobby collide. But I prefer the jumps and I try to get to the races during the winter when I am home.”

More immediately, he says he has signed up to Racing TV and will be watching Cheltenham next week. No doubt he will be watching those mares’ races very closely and maybe sending Colin Bowe a text about the 2022 Festival.