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The Tuesday Take: Why an axe throwing bar could be racing’s winning throw

I’ve been day dreaming about a simple question – where should our industry be selling our sport? 

It’s the boring answer to say online as my day dreams get much more interesting when I thought about where we should physically sell our sport. In an increasingly urban world, outside the ubiquitous high street bookmaker, urban dwellers physically interact with our sport less and less. How could we change that and create the serendipitous effect of window shopping for that racehorse? 

Should Goffs have a stall at Kildare Village? Should Tattersalls take a shop in Harrods? In fact, it’s not for want of trying. In 1998, plans were announced for Value Retail to locate their Kildare Village concept in the fields outside Goffs having struck a deal with the auction house. Planning was denied and they moved 20 minutes down the road to Kildare Town. Imagine getting a North Face jacket with your Far Above yearling in a leisurely half an hour? Tattersalls was once located not even one furlong from the current site of Harrods and before that at Hyde Park Corner (a punishing 5 furlongs from Harrods). In fact, you can still take a time machine to Tattersalls at Hyde Park Corner today. Walk into the Red Room at Tatts and that giant painting at the back is of Tattersalls in that ridiculously central location. 

A drawing of Kildare Village at Goffs

Purpose built sales complexes are of course brilliant and both Tattersalls and Goffs are wonderful places to visit in their own right. Valuable horses need space to be stabled after all.  However, I’m day dreaming here – it’s time to get imaginative about what might be possible.

Today marked the start of the Gold Coast Yearling Sale at Magic Millions. This bloodstock extravaganza will see 84,674 bed nights booked over the 14 days of the Carnival and National Sales – injecting an estimated $42 million into the Queensland economy. This is not just a horse sale. It’s a two week long carnival with a yearling sale attached. The past few days I’ve been scrolling Instagram and drooling – there’s polo, there’s quizzes, there’s showjumping, there’s race days, there’s lunches – and that’s just this past kick-off weekend. I haven’t been getting much sleep as I’ve been up watching the live stream and it’s been a lucky sale for us, our Australian colt syndicate’s Group 3 winner Run Harry Run was sourced from the Gold Coast Sale. 

We do have destination sales in Europe. The Goffs London Sale. Arqana August Sale and the Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions feel like proper events – not just the cranking of the gears of equine commerce. However, what more might be possible to bring owners into our sport?

We’ve already seen this evident with success in other sports. The NFL, keen to grow their international markets, has taken games outside American shores since 2007. Formula 1 this year launched a Grand Prix down the Strip in Las Vegas. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have announced plans for a new stadium based new golf league for this year (albeit they’ve stuck their first drive into the rough, their custom stadiums roof has recently blown off). 

What might a sale in Paris during the Olympic Games look like? How could Irish breeders capture the opportunity of the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor. I look at our business and think we possibly should do more too – a virtual yearling parade in a city centre restaurant? What about if we opened a horse box coffee shop that sold shares in horses with your cappuccino?  

However, given I’m allowed unlimited budgets in my dreams I’d like to introduce you to ”The Stables” and would like to thank you for your million euro investment to allow me build it. Visit a major city in the UK, US or Australia it’s likely you’ll find an establishment called Flight Club. Born from an idea first dreamt up by two friends in a Devon pub, Flight Club has introduced the concept of social darts to the high street. You arrive to the décor that combines the heritage of darts, the familiarity of a British pub with the fun and excitement of a fairground. There are 13 oches and groups can book a session with  interactive dart games – think a digital bowling alley with the best bar you’ve been at this year attached. 

The Stables would feature pairs of virtual horses that you can ride in on-screen races with your friends while surrounded by an environment celebrating our sport, with live racing and betting right at your finger tips. A concept like this would tackle head on our need to get into urban environments while at the same time I think it would be a booming success. Groups increasingly don’t want to visit pubs they want an activity to go with it. Bounce is a ping-pong nightclub in Shoreditch, Clays Moorgate simulates Olympic clay shooting: even Whistle Punks near Oxford Circus is Europe’s largest axe throwing bar. This daydream isn’t a stab in the dark – it’s an informed investment in the place in society we need it most. Now could someone please shake me out of my day dream and present with me a real life cheque. 

Cheer up, sleepy game, oh, what can it mean

To a daydream believer and my fan-winning scheme


Date for your diary – Irish Stallion Trail – This Friday and Saturday

The Irish Stallion Trail takes place this Friday and Saturday so I wanted to take the chance to whole heartedly encourage you to attend. Over 30 Irish stud farms (including our own stallions with Bouttemont at Rathbarry, Fifty Stars at Sunnyhill and Far Above at Starfield) are throwing open their doors and it’s completely free to attend. My advice is to not overwhelm yourself by trying to see too many farms but take your time, soak up seeing some of racing’ stars and don’t forget to take advantage of all the free food and drink. If you’d like to go along, I’ve linked the form to pre-register here.


Jack’s Pick of the Week

Study of Man filly (Ollie Sangster)

Our shrewdies have been out in force the last few weeks getting stuck into this lady. I think she’s possible one of our best value plays with a 1% share starting at just €395 and that’s been reflected in your reaction – we’ve now got just under 30% left.

Her dam was rated 92 and she in turn is a half-sister Agrimony, one of the most expensive private purchases in Ireland the year he won his maiden at Gowran Park – he lost his way for his next trainer but I knew the level of talent that was there. It’s a thinking man’s pedigree that only when you delve into the data of the performances you understand the talent that was there. Study of Man (Deep Impact) has been simmering along lovely with Group 2 winning Deepone leading the charge and he’s being repeatedly highlighted in the racing press as the rising star stallion to watch out for next year with only one crop to emerge so far.

We combine all that with Ollie Sangster – a man I think destined to be at the highest ranks of UK trainers. This means we’ll have days out to see our filly at Manton – the world famous Sangster training establishment – I just think it’s a really nice package so that’s why she gets the nod as my pick of the week before she sells out.



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