15 minute read
It's Leo
MONTHS INTO MY NEW PERIOD which I termed “re-wire-ment”(I try to never utter the word that sounds similar), I submitted my first diary column to this publication’s editor, Sally Duckett, followed by seven more in 2024. Writing them was a highlight for me of 2024, and the reaction I had was really very heartening.
My delight at being asked to contribute to this venerable publication, with a truly global reach among its readers, was only matched by Sally’s invitation to continue to do so again this year.
Thank you very much, Sal. [Please stay out of hospital this year!]
I hope that I can continue to entertain and inform readers for the 12 months ahead. While I can always find topics to write about, I still approach each issue with fear and trepidation, hoping that I do have something vaguely interesting to share.
The easiest way to start a new year is by taking a look over the shoulder at the previous one. My immediate thought about 2024 is that it is a year I would be happy to forget.
I missed my annual forays to the Cotswolds and Paris for the Cheltenham Festival and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, while a third stay in hospital meant that I had to stay at home in the week after Christmas, missing Leopardstown, to recuperate.
My first new year resolution is to avoid medical institutions!
While this might suggest that 2024 was some sort of annus horribilis, it was far from that. Indeed, my first full year working for myself provided opportunities that would previously have been conflicting, and I embraced each with a sense of excitement, and even rejuvenation. I have always liked the quote from the American motivational writer William Arthur Ward, who rightly said that “opportunities are like sunrises; if you wait too long, you miss them.”
Picking out individual highlights of the past year is not an easy task, and so I will largely avoid doing so. However, I will talk about some of the happenings that have given me the most pleasure.
The first of these has been reporting on sales, but I must begin with a confession. When I agreed to do this for The Irish Field, of which I was editor for two decades, I was a little unsure if I would indeed enjoy it. My first few days at the sales did not initially convince me that I had made the correct decision. How that has changed since.
Doubtless, the pages containing The Bloodstock Industry Code of Practice are quickly turned over when each sales catalogue arrives, and yet they contain hugely important information
Press rooms at bloodstock sales are very different from those at racecourses, for the most part being sparsely populated at the smaller sales. For the bigger days, desk space is at more of a premium, understandably. One thing that is hugely attractive about being at the sales every day is the camaraderie that exists among those working there.
Even on the quietest of days, when excitement can be generated by watching the bid board show the sale of a lot for €20,000, the hours spent in the company of others who love to talk about bloodstock and the world of breeding is very refreshing.
The faces are all familiar to everyone who attends sales or reads breeding columns, and great conversations are had on a daily basis. Of course, I am sure the warmth of the welcome I receive has nothing to do with the home baking treats I often take along with me, thanks to a skill developed by my partner while he was largely housebound during the pandemic!
The list of press room comrades is too long to list, consisting of writers and photographers, but as an award recipient might mention in their acceptance speech –they know who they are.
The sale season kicks off this month and builds momentum throughout the year, with hardly an opportunity to breathe from September to December. Bring it on!
Bloodstock Industry Forum
In April last year I was appointed chairman of the Bloodstock Industry Forum (BIF), and the nine months since has been a time of consolidating the great work done by the group.
This year my main aim is to make more people aware of its work, and the services it offers. Being able to write about it in this column is one way in which to make more people aware of the group, its raison d’etre, and its make up. The funding for BIF comes from a small levy on the sale of all horses by Goffs and Tattersalls.
The sale catalogues for all the British and Irish-based sale companies include many pages which detail The Bloodstock Industry Code of Practice.
These were drawn up more than 15 years ago, and are reviewed, and amended where necessary, on an annual basis to endure their robustness.
From my own personal experience during my time as a sales company executive, vendors and purchasers usually only read conditions of sale when a problem arises, never when things are going smoothly or before attending a sale.
Doubtless, the pages containing The Bloodstock Industry Code of Practice are quickly turned over when each sales catalogue arrives, and yet they contain hugely important information, and offer those with an issue an opportunity to get, for free, initial and independent legal advice on possible criminal, civil and regulatory remedies open to them for breaches of the Code.
As chairman of BIF, I am grateful, on behalf of the members, to both Tattersalls and Goffs for inclusion of the Code in their catalogues, as well as collecting the funds needed to carry out its functions.
Work/life balance
Being involved with horses, whether racing, breeding or any other aspect, can be an all-consuming activity.
Many in the industry eat, sleep, drink and talk only about horses. What is happening in the world at large can often pass them by.
Perhaps you are one of these people?
When I attended an interview for my first job, that of a pedigree complier for Ballsbridge Sales (later to become Tattersalls Ireland), my future boss, Michael Opperman, gave me a piece of sage advice. He told me to have friends and interests outside bloodstock and racing, and not to exist in a silo in which nothing mattered if it did not have an equine connection.
I have to say that I took his advice on board, and while work and my career have at many times been absorbing and compelling, I have always tried to keep up other interests. As one grows older, there is great pleasure to be had from taking time out to enjoy other pursuits. Whether it is watching other sports, including supporting Manchester City (for 59 years now), or attending classical music concerts and the theatre, I try to keep some balance in my life.
From the time when I was a child, I was fortunate to grow up in a house that had books in it, and in my seventh decade on earth my love for reading and collecting books has only grown deeper.
I have been lucky to be able to combine this passion with a monthly column reviewing books, and if anyone wants to find out what I recommend you can get in touch, or follow my postings on the various social media channels.
After a busy 2024, I realised that I have a lot of books to catch up with. If you reach out to me and find no immediate answer in the months ahead, I am probably engrossed in some new volume just published.
After a busy 2024, I realised that I have a lot of books to catch up with
Social butterfly
Thankfully I am a gregarious human being, if a little shy at times. I know that some of you reading that last bit will find it hard to believe, but it is true. In my callow youth, I was painfully shy, and I recall my first boss, the aforementioned Michael Opperman, remarking on this many times. I had to push myself to mix with people, and was more often than not the wallflower in the corner of the room.
Getting over my social awkwardness has certainly opened many doors for me, and got me on the guest lists to some events I could once have only dreamed about.
A friendship developed with the great Sir Peter O’Sullevan has seen me attend the majority of his lunches held each November in London, their purpose being to raise funds for the half a dozen selected charities that he championed.
Since 1998, each of the six worthy causes has benefitted to the tune of £750,000 or more, and since 2016 a further 375 different equine welfare causes have also been supported.
Nigel Payne MBE, he of Earth Summit fame, and Mike Dillon of Ladbrokes, have been the driving forces of the charitable trust, and especially since Sir Peter’s death.
The most recent lunch, held in November, was the 27th such event, and a sold-out Dorchester in London hosted its biggest function of the year.
John Francome was the latest to be honoured with a lifetime award, and I was blessed to be seated at a table with two of the three previous winners – lifelong friends Nicky Henderson and Jessica Harrington.
Sir Peter will be forever known as the voice of racing, and the day’s proceedings were in the hands of someone now often referred to as the “face of racing”, Ed Chamberlin.
Rory Bremner was the guest of honour, and he had no shortage of famous names to send up during his routine. Goffs’ Nick Nugent entertained guests with his incredible patter at the charity auction but, more importantly, he sold eight items for a scarcely believable £165,000.
Two of the items stood out, and both produced lengthy and rewarding bidding wars. A visit for four people to visit trainer Willie Mullins, along with dinner and accommodation in the iconic Lord Bagenal Hotel, sold for a staggering £35,000, and yet it failed to top the
That honour belongs to a lunch for four guests at Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-star restaurant Murano, hosted by John Francome and Sir Mark Prescott, and it cost a tasty £53,000.
Could this be a contender for an entry in the Guinness Book of Records – £13,250 a head for lunch?
There was snow and ice, but ITM’s Stallion Trail was a great success
IRISH THOROUGHBRED MARKETING coordinates the annual Irish Stallion Trail, normally held over consecutive days in January.
Visitors made their way to 35 different farms this year, mainly based in larger clustered areas in Leinster and Munster.
There were some 150 stallions to show, Flat and NH, old and new, but snow and ice in the days leading up to the event’s original dates caused some discommode; changes being made in some cases to accommodate those wishing to view the sires.
I am going to mention a couple of the stallions who have caught my interest and my eye this year, all new to Ireland even though some had been based elsewhere, and it is simply a shortage of space that precludes me from writing about more.
Even if they are out of the price range of many breeders, there was no lack of interest in the two new stars at Coolmore –Auguste Rodin (€30,000) and City Of Troy (€75,000).
They are sons of Deep Impact and Justify respectively, both are out of outstanding daughters of Galileo, and each excelled on the racecourse, too. I love the depth of Auguste Rodin’s female line, the fact that his six Group 1 wins were gained in each of the three seasons he raced, and he seems to be competitively-priced for his first season.
The O’Callaghan family’s Tally-Ho Stud, already home to six stallions including Mehmas and Kodiac, adds three more to the roster for 2025.
Where does that family get their drive and energy?
This year they welcome the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Big Evs (€17,500), another Group 1-winninng juvenile in Bucanero Fuerte (€12,500), and the Group 1 Champion Stakes winner and Derby second, King Of Steel (€20,000). The latter pair are sons of Wootton Bassett.
I think Big Evs represents value, his sire Blue Point standing this year for €100,000. Big Evs is one of three Group 1 winners in Blue Point’s first crop, and being a grandson of Shamardal is also a plus.
With Tally-Ho’s incredible record of producing successful sires, and their strong support from loyal breeders, Big Evs will surely not lack for support.
Another farm that has a large band of supportive breeders is Joe and Jane Foley’s Ballyhane Stud, and this year they introduce Sakheer (€6,500), set to stand with Sands Of Mali whose first runners last year yielded 21 winners and four stakes horses.
Sakheer had Charyn behind him when he won the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes, and don’t forget that the winner of that race in 2007 was Dark Angel, the 2024 champion sire.
Peter and Ross Doyle always buy a nice individual, and they purchased Shouldvebeenaring as a yearling.
Sound as a pound, he made 30 starts over three seasons racing, and the new Irish National Stud recruit is attractively priced at €6,000.
The highest earner by Havana Grey, Shouldvebeenaring got to within a head of a Group 1 win in the Haydock Sprint Cup, and breeders looking to breed an early sort will see lots of merit in this grey.
Two sires standing their first season in Ireland are Arrest and Masar, neither of whom have a published stud fee. They are standing at Boardsmill and Sunnyhill Studs respectively, and while their target markets are sure to be principally NH breeders, Flat producers would be advised to take a look at both.
A son of Frankel, Arrest has always been one to catch the eye and was sold as a foal for €440,000 to Juddmonte, for whom he raced.
Denied a Classic and Group 1 victory by Continuous in the St Leger, Arrest was hugely consistent throughout his three seasons racing, and was a dual pattern winner at three.
Now celebrating 90 years of standing stallions, William and John Flood’s Boardsmill Stud has another potential sire success on their hands.
Michael Hickey’s family is another that has been a godsend for NH breeders, and he has carved his own place as a successful jumps’ stallion master at Sunnyhill Stud in Co Kildare.
Joining Fifty Stars in Ireland for 2025 is Masar, the Derby winner and son of New Approach who was Group 1-placed at two, placed third in the Group 1 2,000 Guineas before going on to land the Epsom Classic.
Born for a career as a stallion, Masar is from the family of outstanding sires Galileo and Sea The Stars, and his first crop, which has just turned four, has shown that Flat and NH breeders alike should consider him.
He is an early tip from me to be a top jumping sire in the years ahead.
Aga Khan honoured
The Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin, home to the city’s Lord Mayor, is one of the most famous venues in Ireland.
The Mansion House was conceptualised in the 18th century by one of Ireland’s great visionaries, Joshua Dawson.
The Round Room itself was purposely designed in 1821 to receive King George IV, and it was here in 1919 that the first Dail Eireann (Irish parliament) met.
In 1921, 100 years after the room was built to receive the British monarch, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was ratified here. The ratification ended the Anglo-Irish War, and declared Ireland as a Free State.
“On so may levels, Irish racing and breeding will forever be in his debt, and I hope that this recognition goes some way towards acknowledging such an immense contribution”
A very different celebration took place in The Round Room at the beginning of December. It played host to the Horse Racing Ireland Awards, and there was no shortage of winners to be feted on the night.
The evening’s highlight was the announcement of the latest recipient of the Contribution to the Industry honour. First presented in 2004 to Con Collins, the winners since represent a broad canvas of people and organisations, including a jockeys’ valet, broadcasters, trainers, owners, racecourse medical personnel, a racecourse, breeders and an historian.
The historian was Dr Tony Sweeney, and one of his favourite topics, about which he wrote and was most knowledgeable, was the history of the Aga Khan Studs in Ireland.
It was apt therefore that Princess Zahra Aga Khan was in attendance to accept this coveted Contribution to the Industry award on behalf of her father, His Highness the Aga Khan.
In her citation to HH Aga Khan, Horse Racing Ireland’s chief executive Suzanne Eade described him as “an iconic figure in the global racing industry.”
Eade went on to say: “Recognised the world over as a champion breeder and a champion owner, he has made his mark in many countries, with Ireland playing a significant role in his family’s renowned operation for over 100 years.
“On so may levels, Irish racing and breeding will forever be in his debt, and I hope that this recognition goes some way towards acknowledging such an immense contribution, wonderful generosity, and an unwavering support of our industry”.
