ARAMON and Ruby Walsh left win the Grade 1 Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle for Supreme Racing© Photo Healy Racing
We have enjoyed so many great occasions since getting Supreme Racing Club going, around 130 winners, but to come away from Leopardstown with two Grade One winners during the Christmas Festival, in the same year that Limerick won the hurling All-Ireland, ensured that I will never forget 2018.
Mind you, the week started off disappointingly with Eileen O in the bumper in Limerick. She’s a good mare. She was second in Listowel and we were waiting for soft ground and when it came, there was huge expectation. But she was sixth so at four o’clock on Wednesday , it didn’t look like we were going to have a good week. There were a lot of long faces.
With a bit of trepidation we went up to Leopardstown on Thursday for the Future Champions Novice Hurdle. We knew Aramon was very good and the run in the Royal Bond, when he was third was not a true reflection, because Ruby dictated the whole race on Quick Grabim. He increased the pace, and then slowed it down and it really didn’t suit Aramon. Even at that, only for the mistake at the last, he’d have been a lot closer.
We didn’t really fear Triplicate even though he’d beaten us twice. He’d have great finishing speed off a slow pace but we knew off a strong pace that Aramon was a serious horse that had improved. But the way he won, by 10 lengths, was unbelievable. So then, they all forgot about Eileen O very quickly! It was a great evening.
The same gang were back up on Friday. We liked Kemboy because he was improving the whole time. I met Willie at Punchestown the day before he was due to go over for the Ladbroke and I left that day sure he was heading for Newbury. But of course everything went wrong the following morning. The early ferry was delayed and that threw things into disarray so Willie decided not to go. As it transpired, the evening sailing was cancelled as well and the Friday morning was delayed so it was probably a blessing in disguise, and a good call for Willie to make when the first one went wrong. It saved the horse a lot of hardship.
He’s very free so it was a great decision by David Mullins to let him go when he did. He knew he was going to leave his race behind him otherwise. There’s nothing worse than seeing a horse looking for his head, being held and then finding nothing. You want to die with your boots on.
When Kemboy won his beginners’ chase in Fairyhouse, he nearly threw Paul Townend into the next parish at the last he made such a bad mistake but what was so impressive was that he came back on the bridle and eased away. He won his novice chase in Limerick on heavy ground over three miles and at Leopardstown in the Savills Chase, he went into the last leading by two and a half lengths and went away to win by seven and a half. He has a big engine and definitely stays.
He has only just turned seven so that might be a reason not to go for the Irish Gold Cup and go directly to Cheltenham instead. Aramon might go straight there too but it is too early to say. Willie might tell you one thing at four minutes to 10 and then change his mind at a minute to 10 so you wait until you see the declarations. He’s a genius and he usually gets it right.
Kemboy and Cadmium were bought together in France by Pierre Boulard and didn’t cost huge money, around 50 or 60 thousand each. It proved to be a good bit of business. They then won the two divisions of the same maiden hurdle at my home track in Limerick.
There’s more to come from Cadmium, who is rated 146, has won five races and made a bad mistake in the Drinmore that cost him dearly. He’s actually hard to put condition on, he’s like a greyhound but they’ve learned he doesn’t need to have that condition now to run well. He’ll probably go the Dan Moore on Sunday week. If not, off his handicap mark, something like the Grand Annual would be very enticing.
Aramon won two flat races in Germany and down the road he might be one of those that might go back to the flat during the summer. Willie has been doing well targeting those types of races and of course we had a great day in Royal Ascot when Pique Sous won the Queen Alexandra Stakes in 2014. That was the highlight of our time at Supreme Racing, even after Airlie Beach won our first Grade One in the Royal Bond two years ago. It has been overtaken now by events at Leopardstown though.
I come from Caherconlish, a village outside Limerick city, and the interest in horse racing started very young, when I went to a neighbour’s house to listen to the Grand National on the radio. I was amazed by how excited one of the men there got about it and have loved it ever since.
I became a prison guard in Portlaoise and one of the other prison guards, Gerry O’Neill started off the Syndicate of Prison Officers’ Racing Team, or SPORT for short, in 1995. Micko’s Dream was our best horse, named after one of the first members, Mick O’Hehir, who had died and left a young family behind him. His share was given to his wife Elsie.
Micko’s Dream was trained by Willie, who was getting going at the time and won 14 times, including the Grade One Irish Independent Chase, the Fortria, the Thyestes, the Leopardstown Handicap and the Dan Moore. Unfortunately he suffered a fatal injury.
In 2008, Steve Massey was looking for a couple of horses to lease for the Marks & Spencer’s social club. I helped him source a mare but it soon became clear to us that there was a gap in the market, so we set up Supreme Racing Club. We had intended to go in with Donald McCain in England but the BHA were making it hard for us. They had Middleham and Elite Racing and I don’t think they wanted us coming in so as I knew Willie and had helped him out with a few syndicates here and there, we went with him instead. It goes without saying that we haven’t ever had cause to regret that turn of events!
Supreme Carolina was our first horse. The model initially was to lease mares. Willie set us up with Ken Parkhill and Zuzka and Myska were among the early black-type winners. Now of the 27 horses we have, only four or five are leased.
I retired in 2010 and now work full time for Supreme Racing Club. In recent years, we brought in a few big investors such Brett Graham and Ken Sharp, who would be anchor tenants in a lot of the horses. That enabled us to start buying a better class of horse and we have enjoyed a lot of graded success as well. But apart from myself and Steve, nobody knows when the owners show up on the day whether someone has a five per cent share or a one per cent share, nobody is treated any differently. And if you have a one per cent share and you bring three people with you that are contributing to paying for that, all the better. It makes no difference to the club once the share is being paid for and it only adds to the atmosphere to have more people around.
We have around 400 members, with about 15 or 16 shareholders in each horse. It makes racing ownership more accessible for people and that’s what we’re trying to do. People love it. You lose more than you win so you must make the best of the days you win. We have the odd knocker but you’ll have that and all I know is we’re inside the tent. We’re in it, going through all the experiences, having some great days and giving people the opportunity to have them at an affordable price too.
It is great to be going to Cheltenham with some big chances. Isn’t that the dream everyone has? And we have a few more that we hope might turn out to be good too. Harrie will be going for a winners-of-one. I think he could be the real deal. Shanning has some very good form and I’d have high hopes for her too. In the bumper ranks, Golden Spread was second in Galway and will be out at the end of the month. Robin De Carlow wasn’t right the last day below in Cork but mares can be like that.
We have lots to look forward to. It’s so exciting and the phone is hopping with excited owners. Here’s hoping there’s plenty more to celebrate before the year is out.
