Noel Meade: Irish Success Fuelled By Sales Ring Dominance

Ireland’s horse racing success is being fuelled by success at the sales ring.

That’s according to multiple-time Irish Champion Trainer Noel Meade.

In an exclusive interview with us here at BoyleSports, Meade gave us his take on why Irish horse racing has had so much success in recent years. He also gives his opinion on the dominance of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott, so-called super yards in horse racing and addresses some of the other big topics in British and Irish horse racing.

The Irish have the money to buy the best horses, which is why they are so dominant

The very simple answer is that he who buys the best horses wins the races. And at the moment the Irish have the money to pay for the horses.

If you look at prices at the sales, especially the point to point sales, 80-85% of the horses are coming to Ireland. It doesn’t necessarily mean that an expensive horse will be any good, but the majority are going to be. So he who wins at the sales is going to win on the tracks.

Owners will pay whatever it takes to get the best horses at the sales

There is no such thing as the right price for a horse. It is what somebody is prepared to give. One could be worth 400,000 euro today and 200,000 euro next week, because the people who paid 400,000 one week might not be bidding the next week. 

It is all about who takes on who (in the ring). At the moment there are a lot of people who just want to win the best races, and they will pay what it takes to be in with a chance to do that.

What It’s Like Competing Against Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins At The Sales Ring

It is very difficult to buy against them in the sales ring, it really is; both in the store sales and the point to pointers. You really only get the leftovers when you go to the sales because they’re making so much money.

Michael [O’Leary, Gigginstown Stud boss] has consolidated with Gordon plus a few with Willie. Other than that he hasn’t got horses with anyone else. He left us with what he had but now we have only two Gigginstown left.

I have no problem with their dominance – they have earned it

I have no problem with them at all. They have earned it. If they are able to dominate, that is okay as far as I am concerned. I would hate to see someone blocking them back.  Both men are very good at what they do and they have done a very good job in gathering the horses and the owners they have. They have just gotten bigger and bigger.

Willie Mullins set the template for the super yards – and Gordon Elliott has followed him

Well, Willie set the template. He was the one who decided he didn’t just want one of anything, he wanted as many as he could buy and get his hands on and he has not stopped. He is able to buy, backs them up, and he doesn’t mind having ten horses for the Supreme Novices’ at Cheltenham. 

It’s understandable when you’re talking about trying to get a Gold Cup horse or a Champion Hurdle horse, but Willie doesn’t mind having five or ten for any race. He keeps buying away. He set the template and Gordon [Elliott] is following him. After his unfortunate situation with his ban he is getting right back up there and he has a huge string.

We have the top races in Ireland for the top horses – and it’s starting to attract the English runners here

I think the conscious decision by Horse Racing Ireland and their race planning and the way they put the programme together has paid off. That has been a huge advantage for trainers to get to where the sport is at the moment.  We have the races to run the horses in and that is what is attracting the English horses over here and that is why the top horses are here now.

The proposed limit in British handicaps to four runners maximum for a trainer is anti-competitive

It is anti-competitive, I do not see any merit in it at all. If the horse is in the handicap they are entitled to run. What difference does it make to the public who owns them as long as they are doing their best. It would be a different thing if they were using them as blockers, but they are all doing their best so if they are entitled to run then they should be able to.

We are not as busy as you used to be at this time of the year

It is a conscious decision to move quite a lot of our stock to the Flat. In the past few years we have only been buying a couple of times over the jumps. Anything else has been for the Flat.

I was naive when I first started training – I know a lot more now

It is a different time. Having said that, when I started out I was a little naïve and didn’t know what I know now. I think it was every bit as difficult. The strings weren’t as big, but you still had huge trainers, but there wasn’t as much racing. 

The top trainers dominated and you had to fight your way up. It has been a gradual process getting to where the sport is now.   

You can’t duck and dive in Ireland – we take each other on

Well we don’t have a lot of options! We don’t have as many tracks. We have good races. The two or three day Festivals that have been developed in a row has been great to see. You can’t be ducking and diving in Ireland!

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