Kiltealy trainer has keen eye
Bowe gets it right more often than not in the sales ring
COLIN BOWE from the Milestone Stables in Kiltealy has been champion point-to-point trainer for the past six years, and eight times since 2010.
Since he entered the arena in the 2007-’08 season, he has recorded 359 winners and he has also had over one hundred winners on the track since taking out his licence in 2010.
There have always been horses in Colin’s life, going back to his late grandfather, J.J., the popular character and colourful local politician. He recalls going off to all the local meetings with his dad, Philip, when growing up, and it was only natural that he would become involved himself.
He is married to nurse, Fiona, and they have three children – Katy (14), Aimee (11) and Bobby (8).
He runs a very large and successful establishment at Kiltealy, and his ‘graduates’ have been making an increasing impact with some of the top trainers in Ireland and Britain.
It was not always so. After spending time with fellow Wexford men, Aidan O’Brien and Jim Bolger, Bowe set up his own stable in 2008 and, despite becoming point-to-point champion in 2010 and ‘11, he found it hard to make it pay.
‘At the end of it all, there was no money in the kitty,’ he said in an interview two years ago. ‘That’s when I changed,’ Bowe said. And so the seeds of the modern operation were sown.
Bowe is one of those who has changed the face and influence of point-to-pointing fundamentally in recent years, along with others in Wexford such as the three Doyle brothers from Monbeg, Denis Murphy (The Ballagh), Ellen Doyle’s Baltimore Stables, Mick Goff from Clondaw, Michael Murphy from Redbridge Stables, Duncormick, etc.
At one time it was regarded as the sport of part-timers and amateurs, and farmers with a couple of horses out the back for their own Sunday amusement – and there is still a place for them – but at the top level it is now a sophisticated, big-money business.
These people pay good money for unbroken three-year-olds, with the object of educating and preparing them for the following season. The aim is to get a win, or at least a quality run, first time out in the prestigious four-year-old maidens, and then selling them on promptly, usually at the top sales in Britain.
Bowe and the others have mastered this art and invariably top the sales at Cheltenham and other venues.
The disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is the cause of serious difficulties for all these. Nearly 50 meetings were lost in the curtailed season, ended in March instead of early June, and this meant an awful lot of valuable four-year olds were not able to display their wares and there has not yet been a return on last year’s investment.
There may also be problems accessing the British sales when they re-start because of travel and other restrictions. And to further complicate matters, most of the big Irish sales where the stables restock for next season, have also been postponed.
Colin Bowe acknowledged the difficulties when chatting to me but said all they can do is try to deal with them as best they can.
He did sell on a few early in the year, but he has about 50 four-yearolds left to run during the autumn programme, which he reckons will be the most competitive ever. He will be bringing them in to begin preparations early in July.
He is pleased that the pointto-point authorities are planning to start the autumn schedule two weeks early in the middle of September, and they also plan to pack in some extra fixtures and races to accommodate the glut of horses looking for a run. ‘That will be a great help,’ he agreed.
He won the trainers’ championship again in 2015 (when he shared the title with near neighbour Donnchadh Doyle), and every year since. In 2019 he had his best annual total, his 45 winners falling just two short of the all-time record set by Robert Tyner in 2009.
Graduates of his Milestone Stables in Kiltealy have been victorious at nearly all the recent Cheltenham Festivals, and this year three of the winners began their careers with him.
Samcro, winner of the Ballymore Grade 1 Hurdle at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival, hit a bit of a flat spot the following year but came back to win the Grade 1 Marsh Chase by a nose this year.
He won a four-year-old maiden at Monksgrange, Rathnure, on debut in 2016 for Bowe and jockey Barry O’Neill.
Envoi Allen won his maiden at the Wexford Hunt meeting at Ballinaboola by ten lengths for Bowe and O’Neill on February 4, 2018. He is unbeaten after eight races, including the Champion bumper last year at Cheltenham and the Ballymore Hurdle this year, both under Jamie Codd for Gordon Elliott.
Ferny Hollow, another Bowe graduate that won his point maiden at Knockenard in February, 2019, by 15 lengths under Jimmy O’Rourke, won the Champion bumper this year. He was sold to Willie Mullins for £300,000, having been bought by J.J. Bowe the previous June for €38,000.
However, even at his level, it is not a game without risk. ‘Stores are very dear now but you can’t buy them all for 50 and 60 grand, or you wouldn’t have very many. You have to have horses for every market and for all the expensive ones that make a lot of money, there are more of them that don’t.
‘Sometimes the cheap one can get you the return. The Glancing Queen, for example, only cost eight grand, she made 80 and she won a listed bumper at a Cheltenham November meeting.’
Colin Bowe has a keen eye for a horse in the sales ring, and he gets it right more often than most.
‘The key is to have them jumping really well from early on. Once they do that, they have a chance. That’s where the staff come in.
‘When fully operational I have about 15 lads and most of would school over a fence on any given day. That is so important; it needs to be done right from the start. Any bad experience early on could ruin a horse.’
He also has the considerable assistance on the track of two of the best point-to-point jockeys in the country, Barry O’Neill, champion for the past four years, and Rob James who has ridden over 200 winners and had his first Cheltenham success in the Kim Muir this year on Milan Native.
Young Jordan Gainford from Caim is starting to make an impact and is one to watch for the future.
The business is facing considerable problems, but if I wanted someone to steer my ship safely through, Colin Bowe would be my choice.