Tom was a renowned and successful horse breeder
There was great mourning in equestrian circles recently as Wexford mourned the passing of one of it’s leading horse breeders and owners in the form of Tom Conroy of Coonaleen, Camolin.
Tom came from a family steeped in the tradition of good farming on land suited to both pasture and tillage. His father, in addition to being a top farmer, was a national ploughing champion and, interestingly, coupled this with a bookmaking operation. This latter activity was an influence on Tom who combined a good farming with breeding, training and owning horses.
In this activity he was notably successful with many winners to his name over the years. Probably most notable at national and international level were Moscow Express and Insure. Moscow Express had great success in Ireland before going to England where he won big races at Ascot and Chepstow displaying the ability he showed in winning the Galway Plate in 1988.
Insure, bred by Tom, brought him further recognition and honour, when he won the Irish Grand National in 1986.
Tom’s keen eye and judgement were vital to his success, as were the trainers he engaged such as Paddy Sleator, Paddy Mullins, Joe Crowley and his daughter Ann Marie (a very successful trainer in her own right before marrying Aidan O’Brien, who rode for Tom). Jockeys who rode for Tom read like a who’s who of the sport including huge names such as Charlie Swan, Ruby Walsh and Paul Carberry, while his other trainers included the likes of Francis Flood, Padge Berry and Enda Bolger.
Tom paid great attention to detail whether it was in ploughing a field or getting a horse ready to go into training. In this activity he was ably assisted by his neighbours Michael and Ann Jordan. He was a man of deep faith and was an outstanding singer socially as well as being an active member of the choir in Ballyduff church, just a few fields away from his home.
In later years Tom, had great support from his family and especially from his sister Betty and her sons Thomas and Paul. Tom is survived by his brother Paddy and sisters Betty Breen, Molly Bourke, Peg O’Rafferty and Kathleen Lancaster. DMacP