Over €20m in sales generated at sales with numerous success stories as popular scheme enters fourth year – as Nancy Sexton reports
Ireland: This industry has a habit of looking inward negatively at itself, with the issue of prize-money and the paltry levels on offer by comparison to other nations often at the top of the list.
But for those willing to think out of the box, there are various ways and means to pull money back in, particularly through the various bonus schemes on offer.
The likes of Andrew Balding and Mark Johnston, for example, have always seemed particularly adept at navigating the Book 1 bonus attached to the Tattersalls October Sale.
Similarly, numerous buyers are now making the most of the IRE Incentive Scheme – and with good reason given that a €10,000 bonus can go a long way in securing another horse.
Collaborative effort
To recap, the scheme was launched in early 2021 as a collaborative effort between Irish Thoroughbred Marketing (ITM), Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (ITBA).
Funded by HRI, it awards a sales bonus of €10,000 to the owners of Irish-bred winners of selected races. Qualified horses have to be nothing more than Irish-bred – in other words, carry the IRE suffix – and Foal Levy compliant. In turn, they are easily identifiable at the sales by a green ‘IRE incentive’ hip sticker and are also noted as ‘IRE Qualified’ on the sales catalogue page.
One of the beauties of the scheme is the number of opportunities available. Selected races are split across Britain and Ireland and range from novice, median auction and fillies’ Listed races on the Flat to bumpers and novice hurdles over jumps.
As of mid-April, 624 races had been run, out of which there had been 381 winners in the colours of 284 individual winning owners. In return, winning owners receive a €10,000 sales bonus to spend on Irish-breds at an Irish auction of their choice, provided it is used by the end of the following year. The total value of bonuses awarded stands at €3.81 million.
The scheme was designed to “stimulate and fortify Irish Thoroughbred breeding, racing and sales”, according to HRI, and given that it has generated a total of €20,134,018 in bloodstock sales so far, that aspiration is certainly being fulfilled.
Superb incentive
Agent Alex Elliott, the purchaser of winners Queen Of Mougins and Unspoken on behalf of different connections, sums up its impact well. “Superb incentive that sweetens both the victory and the next IRE purchase,” he says.
In the case of syndicates, the scheme has been a particularly welcome development. Take Millennial Racing as an example. Quick to land a bonus last spring, they reinvested straight away.
Millennial’s Arthur Owen takes up the story. “The first horse I bought for Millennial Racing was Nellie Leylax, a Calyx colt, at the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale for €20,000,” he says.
“He ended up winning an IRE Incentive race at Beverley first time out and not only did he win a very nice pot, he also won the syndicate a €10,000 sales voucher to spend at an Irish sale that year.
“With the Goresbridge Breeze-up Sale round the corner, it was perfect timing. We bought Tenhotfourcrazy for €35,000, which was €25,000 after the discount from the incentive, and she duly won and placed a few times.”
Shamrock Thoroughbreds, meanwhile, won three bonuses with its string last year. Each of the winners – Tiger Belle, Rush Queen and Orderofthephoenix – turned out to be above average and crucially, secured a bonus on their first or second runs for the syndicate.
Ready to go
“We bought Tiger Belle at the Goffs Breeze-Up in Doncaster and she won straight away for us a month later at Cork,” says Stephen Thorne, managing director of Shamrock Thoroughbreds. “She came well recommended by [vendor] Con Marnane and was exactly as it said on the tin – she was ready to go.”
Tiger Belle subsequently won the G3 Prix d’Arenberg for Ado McGuinness before being sold to race in the US while Rush Queen, another breezer sourced from Con Marnane’s Bansha House Stables, was Listed-placed.
Orderofthephoenix, owned in partnership with Dolmen Racing Club and Syndicates Racing, won her second start at Dundalk in the autumn and was sold to Team Valor.
“Any incentive that encourages owners and reinvestment has to be good,” says Thorne. “The bonuses we won will be reinvested at the Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale. Breezers have become expensive – you have to pay for the right ones and an incentive like this goes a long way in buying one. It definitely helps, especially as a syndicate.”
Owen concurs. Millennial Racing now has four horses in training split between Tom Dascombe and Jack Jones including Nellie Laylax, who ended up winning three races during his juvenile campaign.
“The incentive has made a huge difference to my newly-formed syndicate that wouldn’t have endless money to spend,” says Owen. “I now favour buying yearlings at Irish sales where they will qualify for IRE Incentive races as it just gives us a slight edge when we reinvest.
Brilliant initiative
“At the 2023 yearling sales, I bought a Soldier’s Call colt and a Kodi Bear filly both from Tattersalls Ireland and we will look for IRE Incentive races for them. It’s a brilliant initiative that has helped me grow my syndicate at an affordable level.
“We’ve got such a diverse group of people in it that are from all walks of life but they seem to get on so well. The winners have definitely helped that but it’s great to see horse racing bring people together that would probably not meet in normal life.”
When it comes to making the most of the schemes out there, Nick Bradley Racing is another that is also rarely far from the action. As the recipient of ‘many’ bonuses, his syndicate has now taken to targeting Irish-bred horses at auction specifically for the job.
“Nick Bradley Racing always look to select Irish-bred horses from the yearling sales as we have won many €10,000 bonuses, including three in 2023,” says Bradley. “We have identified all of the races that carry the bonus during 2024 and will be targeting them with the Nick Bradley Racing two-year-old team.”
Bradley is not alone in targeting IRE Incentive races, proof surely that the scheme is not only working but gaining traction. Indeed, the team at ITM have seen a growing interest from trainers, including those based in Britain looking to invest further in Irish-bred stock.
‘Money is there to be won’
“The scheme gives us a reason to talk to British trainers and provides a major incentive to invest at Irish sales,” says Charles O’Neill, chief executive of ITM. “What we’re finding now is that more British trainers – the likes of Alice Haynes, Andrew Balding, Ralph Beckett, etc – are targeting the races because they know the money is there to be won.”
He adds: “A key aspect is that the races cover such a broad range of tracks. We make sure that they are there to be won in almost every part of Britain and Ireland. And if a trainer wins a bonus, they have a greater likelihood of another horse coming into the yard for the following year.
“We ran the figures and, as can be seen by the sales generated, the multiplier effect is massive. So it is a win-win for everyone involved and all the money goes directly back into the industry, which is hugely important.”
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