Small budgets don’t always mean small rewards, Smallcraftwarning has given the We Win Farming Syndicate a summer to remember for the members, with thirteen runs under his belt, collecting prize money on ten of those occasions, providing the syndicate with plenty of days out and lots to cheer about.
Aidan O’Sullivan, a proper grassroots man from Cork has established this syndicate to ensure all the members can feel that racehorse ownership is both affordable and attainable at a level for them, and most importantly enjoying the ownership journey at every aspect along the way and has shared the story of how it all began.
Where did the interest in horseracing come from?
It all started when I was about four years old, my grandfather started taking me racing with him and he would have been a big racing fan, everywhere he went racing I was tagging along with him, every March I would be taking afternoons off school to watch the Cheltenham Festival with him as I grew older! He never owned a horse, but he always had a fierce interest and needed a companion to go racing and I fitted the bill for that. Through school a friend of mine was interested in becoming a jockey, Mick Winters suggested to get a point-to-pointer to have a bit of fun with to see if it was something he wanted to pursue so we ended up buying a horse between us and doing a season point to pointing, without any success but we thoroughly enjoyed it! He is over in England riding now, so it worked out well for both of us!
What was the idea behind starting a syndicate?
The syndicate formed around this time last year in October, Jack approached me to see whether I would be interested in putting together a syndicate. I had been trying to buy a horse for a long time without any success, it just happened to work out that Jack had asked at the right time. I wanted to wait for the right horse and not to rush things, Jack however was fierce enthusiastic and had the colours and all registered before we even got the horse! We enquired about a few before we found Smallcraftwarning and he has been perfect for the syndicate. There are about 20 of us involved in the syndicate, we try to keep it as cheap as possible for everyone with no big outlays. With the costs divided between 20 of us it keeps it very affordable and manageable for people. He has been paying for himself all summer and no one has had to contribute since May which is great.
Who is involved in the syndicate?
I actually never met Jack before we decided to start up the syndicate, I met Jack through Twitter and a lot of the people involved we have connected with through the platform, that we had never met, but had a keen interest in racing. There is a good mixture, along with some friends and family. It's great that we have made new friendships and met people that we wouldn't have had otherwise. It's great that so many of the members try to attend the races whenever Smallcraftwarning runs, some members are living abroad that haven't made it to the races yet. With John Ryan training him, he will ensure there aren't a shortage of days out for us!
Is there a story behind the name of the syndicate?
Jack has a syndicate called We Win Entertainment and I suppose I wanted to focus the name of the syndicate We Win Farming back to the grassroots and the small man having his day more than anything. Pretty much all the members would have some connection to agriculture, it just seemed to be a good fit.
How did you come about purchasing Smallcraftwarning?
The horse was in training with Evanna McCutcheon and I had been watching him for over 18 months and had mentioned to a few people that he was a horse that I would love to own. It just happened that he ran at the student Raceday at Mallow in March, I said to Jack to keep on eye on how he ran. We made a phone call after to see if there was a chance he was available to buy, Evanna was open to the idea, and we encouraged John to come and have a look at him. It took a bit of encouragement to get him to go and see him! Once he seen him, he was keen on him and said whatever they want for him, give it to her to so that was good enough for me!
Why did you decide on John Ryan to be your trainer?
We chose John because Jack's family had a homebred mare in training with John already and had great things to say about him. I'm glad we did as John has been great to us, he is always available to chat every day of the week, there is never a decision made without him picking up the phone and contact made with the syndicate first. We are involved in every decision on an almost daily basis, whether it is entries, declarations or jockey bookings. If the horse has worked well or not so well, he is always on the phone with regular updates. I'd say John is more than just our trainer, he is a good friend at this stage, it's great to be able to have a relationship like that with your trainer.
How do you keep all the members updated on the plans?
We have a syndicate WhatsApp group and John sends us an update at least once a week on the horse so that all members know what's going on. Whenever the horse has done a piece of work or schooled, a video will be sent in to the group for everyone to see. Whether we are at the races or not there are always constant video updates for the syndicate. These updates are key and everyone feels involved in the whole journey.
What would you say the Ownership experience has given you so far that you didn't expect?
I suppose it's the days out and meeting so many people on the journey. I'd say it's the same for a lot of owners, but locally at home, once people have made the connection with the horse and myself and any of the other lads involved, everyone is always asking 'how's the horse?' 'When will we see him next?'. Even people who don't have access to the internet, the older crowd are always checking the newspapers for the results or to see if he is entered. It's amazing that a horse with a low rating can generate so much interest amongst people. The days out win lose or draw, even the first day out in Killarney when he finished 7th, you'd never see a bunch of happier people! I think what people have gotten out of it is great, the interest in racing has only increased and even going to tracks they might not have gotten the chance to go to before. It's been a great experience, even getting to see the other side of things that people might not realise, the amount of effort that John puts into his horses, his attention to detail is second to none.
Has your ownership journey sparked more of an interest with your family and friends?
Definitely, my father would never have come racing with me, but one thing is for certain when Smallcraftwarning is running, he would be the first one to take a day off work to go to the races! My brothers or sister wouldn't have had an interest in racing, but they are always keen to know when he is going to run next! They might have their €5 each way on him when he is running, they wouldn't have a bet any other day! My family is definitely taking a bigger interest, and I have even had people locally enquiring about taking shares in any horses in the future. My brother plays hurling down in Limerick, and his friends are interested in getting involved. There are people that I would have never thought would have an interest in racing or monitor what was going on, it seems to have sparked an interest with everyone!
What was it like when Smallcraftwarning won at Clonmel for the first time back in June?
We only had him less than 10 weeks at that stage, we didn't have to wait too long for his first success! We had quite high expectations going into Clonmel that day. John felt he had him fairly spot on, and we knew that he was capable of winning off that mark. While watching the race live, we were quite doubtful; he never travelled at all through the race, but as the race developed, he seemed to come alive! I can't remember much after the second last as we were cheering him on so much! I think that day was a day that a lot of the lads will remember for a long time.
Are there any plans for the future of the syndicate?
We purchased another horse in August, a point-to-pointer from Tom Keating, who is in training with John. Hopefully, he will be ready to run around by December. He had a run in a point-to-point, but he is a bit weak so John has been building him up slowly and will likely have a couple of days out in schooling races first and go from there. We are always looking to add a few extra horses, and we are open to having new members. As always, though, our priority when buying a new horse would be offering it to the owners we have, then offering it to potential new owners to fill in the gaps. Not every horse will suit everyone, and people's expectations would need to be different for different types of horses purchased. Hopefully, we will continue to grow, and the main aim would be to keep it all as cheap as possible and to get people enjoying it for the experience it is more than anything.
What would you say to people who might think they can't afford to be involved in a syndicate?
It's very affordable, I know our members had an initial outlay of €750 to purchase a 5% share, which is big enough I suppose, but when you break down your training fees for each member every month, you’re talking €50 or €60 each month which is the same as a cost of a gym membership, when you break it down like that it isn't a lot at all, you would easily spend that on a good night out! It isn't as unattainable as people might think, for a lot of people, it isn't having a group big enough to pull together, and you might not know how to start. I think we make it very affordable and attainable for everyone to be involved at a level they want to be. We are fortunate that Smallcraftwarning has been paying his own way with collecting prize money since May, he's ran thirteen times, collecting prize money on ten of those occasions. We generally use the prize money to pay for vet fees and training fees, which makes it a lot easier than trying to divide up small portions of prize money. When the pot runs dry, we can look for contributions again then. When we started out, we wanted to make it as cheap as possible, everything myself and Jack do with the syndicates is all cost price. We take nothing out of it ourselves, we own shares like everyone else. I do a lot of the work myself, sourcing horses, keeping an eye on all the racing, and Jack looks after the bookkeeping. We do everything on our own back for no expense, we aren't getting the firsthand information and taking anything for it, we want to be as involved as everyone else in paying our own fees and things like that. If it comes to a day at the races, we have paid our entitlement to an Owners & Trainers badge, rather than one of the other members missing out. We try to keep it as even as possible for everyone.
What would you say to someone who has been thinking about getting involved in Ownership but hasn't taken the leap yet?
Oh, I would definitely get involved, you won't regret it anyway! We have people from all professions and ages, and different stages of life are involved. Whether you’re a big racing fan or you are just starting out, the friendships we have gotten out of it and watching your horse run well, and the bonus of having a winner, there is nothing that I have felt compares to it. Being in a syndicate, sharing the experience with a great bunch of people, makes it twice as good, it's second to none.
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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