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Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor's Latest Blog

A Graceful Exit

Michael O'Leary has been a big supported of Gordon ElliottMichael O'Leary has been a big supported of Gordon Elliott
© Photo Healy Racing

It's a big stretch to suggest that little in Michael O'Leary's racing life has become him more than the manner of his leaving but while the Ryanair boss's shock decision to wind down his Gigginstown Stud operation caught most everyone on the hop it looks like being carried out honourably in the circumstances.

Whatever you think of O'Leary he can never be accused of pretending to be something he isn't. In his business life he is a famously ruthless, unsentimental, free market zealot. Over the last decade and a half there is abundant evidence of him treating his hobby in similarly hard-nosed fashion.

Whether to do with the hiring and firing of jockeys or trainers, his policy on training fees, or even an often combative approach to officialdom on either side of the Irish Sea, it is plain that O'Leary is one of those rare characters mostly unfamiliar with the concept of doubt.

So what some might find impulsive he probably thinks of as decisive. And since O'Leary is the one financing the whole thing what he says goes. It's to his credit then that he appears set on winding up his massive operation gradually rather than pulling up stumps straight away with his handful of trainers.

That's not much use to those who've grown reliant on Gigginstown being in the market for the best young stores at the sales ring or off the point to point field. But whether you view O'Leary as decisive or self-indulgent, the prospect of him simply deciding one day enough is enough and walking away immediately has never seemed an outrageous one.

Instead the intention to allows his current team finish their careers in the Gigginstown colours allows Gordon Elliott & Co precious time to replace them. That in turn is vitally good news for employees and others whose livelihoods are tied up in the economic wellbeing of these various yards.

There is ample evidence from the business world of O'Leary's reluctance to account for such niceties in his bottom line calculations. He would have been within his rights to adopt a similar attitude to his racing operation. He never pretended it wasn't about anything but his own enjoyment. There's certainly never been any charitable undertow to it.

Over the years that has got some backs up. A regular charge has been the old chestnut about O'Leary knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing. In what is essentially a game rooted in sentiment the champion owner has never budged from an unsentimental stance. And while that can seem graceless at times no one could ever accuse him of inconsistency.

Essentially though it is all about whoever pays the piper getting to call the tune. O'Leary was fascinated by racing for years and poured millions into it. Now its appeal has palled and he's getting out. He's entitled to do that, just as any owner is, regardless of scale. It's a pity for a lot of people. But the manner of it could be worse.

It's a pity too for us proles looking in from the sidelines. From a punting point of view, or just as fans, a notable feature of the Gigginstown gig is an absence of messing. The horses run straight and straightforwardly, no matter how many of the various coloured caps are required in races sometimes.

Of course races such as this year's Irish Grand National, where Gigginstown had a dozen runners, or a memorable Grade Three races in Naas two years ago when all four runners were in maroon, provoke accusations of a monopoly and regret at an ownership oligarch squeezing out the jump game's middle.

Gigginstown's numbers in handicap chases has provoked particular ire. Their numerical strength in depth means others get denied places in some lucrative contests that are at least theoretically supposed to present a level playing field. Maybe there's even an element of packing a race sometimes. But Clarcam's 33-1 Galway Plate last year, and General Principle's Irish National, illustrated how it can pay off unexpectedly.

O'Leary has insisted that such criticism washes over him. He does have a hard-man public image to protect after all. But it's reasonable to wonder if he might protest a little too much.

It would be only human if, after pouring so much money into the game, he felt a certain 'f--k you' attitude towards those aiming flak at him. He might justifiably feel somewhat entitled to fire back that it's easy to be 'flaithiulach' with someone else's money. Or feel a certain satisfaction in now reminding critics of being careful what you wish for.

Perhaps such criticism stung more than O'Leary is prepared to let on. But that doesn't mean much of it wasn't valid in relation to competition. Scepticism rather than cheerleading is supposed to be the media gig when it comes to the great and the better, even if it inevitably gets charged with being begrudery. But that isn't the same as scepticism. It's why they're two different words!

Rich men appearing losing interest in an expensive hobby is nothing new. Such men acting decisively on that and catching the rest of us on the hop is nothing new either. But for someone often accused of penny-pinching O'Leary's exit looks like being carried out with a relative grace he had no obligation to show.

This weekend sees the first classics of 2019 at the Curragh as well as the official opening of Irish racing's flagship €80 million public facility. The shape of the Guineas races, and the Tattersalls Gold Cup, is still to be determined although it will be no surprise, given stable form, if Aidan O'Brien clean-sweeps them for a third time.

Whether such a prospect has widespread public appeal is debatable, just as it's valid to wonder if the quality of racing anywhere has any dramatic impact on attendance figures. But having invested so much in the new Curragh it surely has to be a priority to try and generate as much public engagement as possible with HQ. So rather than cribbing let's pass on one constructive suggestion.

There are a number of big towns within a ten mile radius of the Curragh. Rather than pouring money into more fixtures and fittings for a few to focus on, why not divert some cash to something as basic as buses that help make a day at the races an attractive social option for the many and one that doesn't break the bank.

Have buses leave a central spot in Naas, Newbridge, Kildare, Kilcullen and Rathangan every twenty minutes on race-day. Charge a couple of quid for a return ticket and then no more than a tenner at the gate. Try to present as attractive an entertainment proposition as possible, one avoiding any sense of rip-off opportunism, and aim to send people away with a good memory that encourages them to return.

It isn't very flash. Such an 'Air Coach' concept might even cause concerns about the tone being lowered. But the new Curragh has been publicly sold on the idea of generating widespread engagement. A €35 entry price for Guineas weekend suggests some instincts might privately differ but substantial state investment means the die really should be cast on that.

Like it or not, the actual racing alone doesn't appear enough to get people to go to the Curragh. So rather than deterring them with expensive ticket prices the focus should be on encouraging them to go by providing straight-forward and practical inducements that make it easier to go racing rather than more difficult.

And in such a spirit the Curragh can have this suggestion for free!