For Calantha Donnelly and her family, based in Co. Wicklow, the journey into racehorse ownership began long before they ever stood in the winner’s circle at Thurles last Thursday. It began in childhood, tagging along to race meetings with their beloved grandfather Harry, the man whose passion for the sport planted a seed that would quietly grow into something extraordinary. Years later, that simple tradition evolved into a reality when an unassuming Facebook advert led the sisters, along with other family members, to purchase a racehorse who would become Harry’s Dream, a fitting tribute to both their grandfather and the aspirations he has inspired.
Now united as the Dreaming Syndicate, a predominantly female ownership group spanning three generations, their story reflects the heart of modern ownership: family connection, shared ambition, and the power of a lifelong ambition fulfilled. What followed has been an unexpected and deeply rewarding adventure, offering behind-the-scenes access to the sport that they have always loved, giving the Dreaming Syndicate that winning moment at Thurles, and transforming childhood dreams into reality.
Where did the interest in horse racing come from?
Our Granddad Harry always used to take us racing when we were young. We were always getting in trouble with school for leaving early and taking so many days off to go racing with him! We would have watched racing on the TV all the time, and every year we would always attend the Punchestown Festival as a family, which would have been the main racecourse my Grandad would have brought us to. Every year, the girls would book a week off work to go to the festival, and I would take the week off school! We are a farming family and grew up around horses, our other Granddad would have bought and sold horses throughout the years. My sister Lucinda would have gone hunting as well.
Who is involved in the syndicate?
There is me, my two sisters, Amanda and Lucinda, my Granny Vera and my Aunty Lorraine from my father's side are involved. My uncle Charlie is involved in the syndicate from my mother's side. It's a predominantly all-girls syndicate with my uncle making up the numbers!
How did you end up becoming the owner of Harry's Dream?
Growing up, we always said we wanted to get into racehorse ownership. Amanda, my sister, happened to be on Facebook one day and saw an advert from Philip Rothwell advertising that Harry was for sale. I rang him straight away enquiring about it, and ended up that all six of us wanted to get involved, so we formed a syndicate and bought him. Philip purchased him from the Goffs sale as an unnamed three-year-old and was looking for an owner for him. Originally, he was advertised for four 25% shares, however, we were all keen to get involved, and it made sense to us to buy him between us and then form a syndicate. I would have been the youngest at the time, I was only 18, and it happened to be the last day of my Leaving Cert when we bought him! Our Granny is the oldest member, and my sisters are between the ages of 20 -30.
How did you decide on the name Harry's Dream, the name of the syndicate and the colours?
We were all sitting there chatting one evening, and we knew we wanted to call him Harry after our Grandad. We were saying like this is our dream and that's where the dream part came from, which resulted in Harry's Dream. We wanted to incorporate that into the name of the syndicate as well, and we came up with the Dreaming Syndicate. Our Grandad Harry used to own a racehorse in the past, and he had the stripes on his silks. We liked the colour blue, and we thought blue and pink went well together! I don't think we could be much more involved in the process than that!
What has it been like being an owner with Philip Rothwell?
We would be about half an hour from Philip's yard, which is great as we can get to the yard to see Harry whenever we want. To be honest with you, I think Philip is probably one of the best trainers to have a horse with, especially as we get to be so involved in the journey with Harry. We would go to the yard at least once a month, and he always makes it clear that we are welcome to go to the yard whenever we want. We get to see the yard, meet the staff, who are all so lovely. Just being able to watch Harry on the gallops and we get the opportunity to see all the other horses in the yard as well; we are so involved at every stage. Philip would keep us updated with videos also.
What has your Ownership journey been like?
It's been brilliant. We were delighted that he ran for us at the Punchestown Festival in the Goffs Land Rover Bumper, and we got to enjoy the experience of being an owner at one of the biggest festivals in Ireland. He's been picking up prize money along the way, so he's been paying his own way really. We have never missed a day's racing when Harry has run.
What was it like when Harry's Dream won for the first time at Thurles last week?
We couldn't believe it! We thought he would want it a little softer than good to yielding, which was the ground description on the day. I didn't even back him because I thought it was going to be too quick for him, and didn't think he had much of a chance! It was just so unexpected when he went and won, it was just brilliant. You could have sworn we were after winning at Cheltenham the way we were celebrating! It's so surreal, we have watched it back so many times, and I still can't believe he won! Everyone was on a real buzz! We are based in Rathdrum, a small enough town in Wicklow, and everyone knew that he was after winning before we had even made it back from Thurles! Everyone from our area is so involved in him, without even owning him. There's been a great community spirit from all involved on our journey.
Is there a reason why you like to have female jockeys on board?
It was great to have Anna riding Harry. I think she has the potential to be a great jockey in the future. I think she has had around 9 winners now for the season, which is great for her. We have always tried to have girls ride Harry whenever we can. We grew up in farming, which is male male-dominated industry, I suppose we wanted to give the lady riders a chance, and Anna gave him a phenomenal ride.
What does the future look like for Harry's Dream?
We will see how it goes, hopefully he might get to run at Christmas time, maybe in Limerick, keeping to two miles over hurdles. It's the best period of racing, and it would be great to be involved. Before Harry ever ran, we always envisioned that when he eventually retires, he will come home to live with us on the farm!
If someone was thinking about Ownership, but hadn't taken the leap yet, what would your advice be?
You can't beat it. You just can't beat that feeling of having a winner, even just owning a horse, we have been so involved in it all. When you watch it at home as a spectator, you never realise what it's really like being an owner. The behind-the-scenes involvement is something people don't realise is a massive part of the whole experience. Even when Harry finished second twice, it was still a dream come true for us! I just think it has been really worthwhile investing in the journey.
Would you say the Ownership journey has brought your family closer together?
Definitely, we are always talking about it, we always have something to talk about and something to look forward to. Even just visiting him at Philip's yard encourages conversation.
Do you think your Ownership journey has sparked an interest with wider family and friends?
Yes, I’d definitely say so. At the time when we bought him, I think a few people were raging that they didn't get involved in the syndicate. They have said how great it is for us, and they would be interested in getting involved in racehorse ownership in the future. They have got to see how amazing it has been for us and see how having a winner has brought us so much joy.
How different has it been from going to the races as a spectator to now as an owner?
Going racing as a spectator now, we feel like we appreciate the winners’ other owners get to enjoy, it's brilliant to see them having the same thrill we are experiencing. When you own the horse, you are part of it all, from buying the horse, going to the yard and then ending up in the winner's circle. I just don't know how to describe it. Our first day at the races as an owner was Thyestes day at Gowran Park, and we were standing next to Joseph O'Brien in the parade ring, which we thought was crazy! A year before that, we were at the same race meeting, and we were standing on the other side of the rails looking in at it all. It's surreal to think about the difference in a year.
Would you say you have met lots of new people on your Ownership journey?
I was only saying to the girls here the other day, after Harry had won, it's astronomical the number of people we have met through this journey, and we have made so many new friends. Phidelma Elvin had ridden him a good few times, and we would consider her to be one of our friends now. We would have never met Phidelma, Philip or any of the staff involved in the yard if we hadn't gotten into racehorse ownership.
Would you say being involved in a syndicate has been an affordable option for you?
That's kind of the main reason why we got involved. We probably could never have been able to afford for only one of us to be involved as an owner; there's no point saying it's not expensive, it is. But with six of us involved, it's affordable, and we have been lucky with Harry that he has been paying a good bit of his way through prize money earned. There's more fun being involved together as a syndicate rather than just one of us. We would be deliberating everything in the evening, talking to the girls about it. It's great that we are all involved in Harry's journey.
If you're interested in exploring racehorse ownership opportunities and discovering the stories behind the sport, contact us on [email protected] to find out how to get involved.
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