6 minute read
A matter of taste
Tattersalls’ Spanish representative Dominick Mahony talks to Carl Evans about racing in Spain and an interesting side-line in Iberian ham
Dominick and son Marcus Mahony
Dominick Mahony, Tattersalls’ representative in Spain, has been considering statistics that underline an important role the country plays in Britain and Ireland’s racing and breeding industries.
He says: “Last year we took some 40 clients to the Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale, and bought 56 horses, yet, at a conservative estimate, we bid on some 300. That is about a quarter of the catalogue.”
Spanish buyers are rarely seen operating at the top end, and nor are the clients Mahony looks after from Portugal, Morocco and the Canary Islands, but if the lower rungs are active, and racehorse owners are moving stock on, trade benefits higher up the ladder.
As Mahony says: “There are plenty of horses looking for homes in the lower reaches, and we are buying them or helping to get them on the market. You don’t need to be a mathematician to work out that every 1,000 gns increase in a horse’s value is £50 for Tattersalls, and that contributes to the sales cycle.”
Mahony, who is the brother of Tattersalls’ Chairman Edmond, moved to Spain “about 30 years ago, [initially] to work in property development.”
He says: “My grandmother was Spanish and my father was born in Spain, and it felt like home from home. I’ve never felt a foreigner here, as a lot of expats do, but I don’t consider myself an expat. I’m an Irishman who lives in Spain.”
Those of us who reside in the north of Europe may endure a sense of envy when Mahony describes “the lifestyle, the weather, the food and the friendly people” of Spain, and it gets no better when he refers to his hometown of Seville as “a beautiful city, where temperatures are about 18 degrees in winter.”
All very nice, but do Spain’s virtues include racing or breeding operations worth noting?
He says: “There are about three principal breeders, with some 30 to 50 mares, including boarders, and a number of small breeders with one or two mares. Felipe Hinojosa (of Dehesa De Milagro) stands Kool Company (Jeremy), who he bought (for 110,000 gns) at Tattersalls, and Caradak (Desert Style), while Jose Hormaeche of Yeguada Torreduero stands Lightning Moon (Shamardal), Noozhoh Canarias (Caradak) and Abdel (Dyhim Diamond).
“The climate clearly has an impact, although it’s not difficult to grow grass in the north of Spain, and the warm weather can help to bring young horses on, but it would be fair to say the stock is not what you would find on a stud farm in Ireland. It’s a chicken and egg situation, but, for example, Dehesa De Milagro is a very good farm with very good grass.
“Racing takes place all year round, with the main course being in Madrid. They race there from the beginning of March to the end of June, before the action moves on to San Sebastian, and then returns to Madrid in September. At the end of November it moves to Seville, but there are other small meetings around the country, some taking place on the beach.
“The prize money is excellent in the bottom-to-middle level, with €4,000 to the winner of the worst races, but (only) €40,000 to €45,000 for top races such as the Gran Premio de Madrid.” Mahony says runners from stables in France are not uncommon at San Sebastian, and there are occasional forays by British stables. Genetics, trained by Andrew Balding, finished fourth in this year’s running of Madrid’s feature race.
He adds: “You are not going to see top British and Irish horses here, but for horses at a certain level there are races to be won – and in winter it’s more fun than going to Wolverhampton.”
Mahony will be in Newmarket for the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, although few of his clients have aspirations to buy yearlings at that level. The aforementioned Autumn Horses-in-Training Sale is their auction of choice, and the February Sale is popular because the timing suits Spain’s racing season. The Guineas Breeze-Up is gaining traction, although principally for the in-training section, while at this year’s July Sale his clients bought “seven or eight horses, although the timing is not as convenient.”
His journey from Seville to Suffolk for Book 1 provides an opportunity to meet up with his bloodstock agent son Alex, who lives in the town and runs EAM Bloodstock – Alex’s brother, Marcus, also takes a keen interest when his university studies allow – but there is a culinary reason, too. Collecting Cork
Dominick says: “Some ten or 12 years ago I was offered the chance to buy 200 acres of land to the west of Seville, and went into business with a local man to produce Iberian ham. He breeds and looks after our purebred Iberian pigs, and I do the marketing.
“The animals forage in a lovely, unspoilt forest of oak and cork wood where they do very well on the acorns. They are completely free-range.”
Guests who join Tattersalls for the company’s annual eve-ofBook 1 gathering at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket may have made themselves familiar with the end result of this Iberian idyll. Once tasted, never forgotten, for the flavour is piggy unique and marvellously delicate.
Mahony says: “That is down to several reasons, including the life the pigs lead. The curing, which takes four years, is crucial, although anything good takes time. Initially the hams are placed in vats of salt for a month, and then hung in cold air. The carving is also crucial, and requires professional skill – each piece is the size of a large postage stamp, and sliced very thinly. It should never be eaten in a hurry.”
The perfect accompaniment comes in a glass. “Red or rose wine is good, but freezing cold sherry, served in a glass so tiny you drink it before it becomes warm, is hard to beat,” says Mahony. That’s a taste of Spain in Newmarket, and too good to miss.
Dominick at the races at Sanlucar
ABEL TASMAN, 1st G1 Personal Ensign Stakes 2018 G1 Ogden Phipps 2018 G1 Kentucky Oaks 2017 G1 Acorn Stakes 2017 G1 Coaching Club Oaks 2017 Crowned Eclipse Champion 3 yo fi lly 2017 Horse In Training Purchase
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MARCEL 1st, 2015 Racing Post Trophy Gr 1 Foal purchase
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