James Owen Syndicates

ARO Chairman Charles Gregson presents James Owen with the ARO Leading Trainer Trophy for 2021

2022 UK New Season Preview - Syndicates the way forward for Owen team

Five-times ARO leading trainer James Owen is now, like fellow Newmarket based trainer, Phil Collington, without the support of the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Arabians. However, having already established his James Owen Racing Club over the last few years, which with the help of Justin Byrne of Dubai’s Emirates Entertainment Racing Club (EERC), he’s looking forward to progressing further. One of his original Racing Club horses, Dolfina D’Ibos, has been productive at stud and they are eager to campaign her stock over the coming years, starting with Mayfair, who will be syndicated.

Owen is upbeat saying: “We’re looking forward to the new season, obviously it’s going to be very different without Shadwell’s involvement. They ’ ve very kindly leased us a few horses that we’re excited about and they ’ ve done well over the winter, and as a lot of the Shadwell Arabians do, they improve with age. How their horses that were sold performed well in Dubai, which makes us excited for the ones we have here.

“We’ ve got a good team, we’ ve some amateurs who we will support, like we’ ve always done. It’s nice to have our first homebred, Mayfair, to run this season. Her mother had a lot of ability, but she wasn’t the most honest, though Simon Walker got the best out of her. Being a first foal she’s small, but the next two foals are lovely. We’ ve a two-year-old filly by RB Burn that looks the part, she’d be bigger than Mayfair now, she’s really nice, we’re excited about her. We’ ve an Al Mourtajez filly on the ground now, it took two years to get one by him, but we’re hoping that if the first two fillies can do well, the Al Mourtjez filly will be worth selling.

“Mayfair will be sold as shares, so owners will own a percentage of her. As a threeyear-old she’s probably not going to run that much this year, two three times maximum and if she was to win first time out we’d probably not run again and try to sell her on.

“With the Racing Club horses, they ’re horses that run a lot every season. A horse like Al Kaaser will run five or six times this season, so if the other horses do the same, the members should potentially get 15 or 16 days out, they can have two or three open mornings here at the yard, Justin’s going to throw in a few more days out at other yards, it’s a very good value package to get involved in. "

Dolfina D'Ibos (FR) and Mr Simon Walker

© Debbie Burt

Explaining his involvement at Green Ridge Stables, Justin Byrne says: “Basically I visited James last year to discussing sending him a horse from Dubai. That never worked out because the horse didn’t recover from its injury, but then we got talking and he asked me to help with the Racing Club. We had a lot of fun, got more people involved and syndicated a few horses. Luckily one of my owners from the EERC, Gary Allsop got very interested and he’s taken two horses for 2022, Balqees and Wanaasa.

Al Kaaser (FR) and Tom Marquand in the EERC colours after finishing third at Newbury

© Debbie Burt

“We’re trying to do much the same this year for the James Owen Raicng Club, we’ ve got what I think are three exceptional horses in it, in Al Kaaser, Al Mahbooba and Awtaaar, I’m sure all will be winning this season. We’re also going to try to syndicate some of the others, Mayfair being one of them. Hopefully with the season starting at Royal Windsor shortly, we can have some good days out. ”

Speaking about his syndicate management experience, both here and in Dubai Byrne says: “I run syndicates for thoroughbreds as well as Arabians and the big advantage with the Arabians is you know the dates when the horses are going to run. So it’s brilliant, the members can plan ahead, take a day off of work if it’s mid-week. People in syndicates want to see their horses run, with thoroughbreds they can be entered in four or five races all over the country and you don’t find out until the last minute when they ’re going to run, making it hard for members to plan their racing. I think the concept is excellent for Arabian racing and I think we’re going to have a really good year. ”

Byrne elaborates on new Arabian owner Allsopp, who started off with Balqees in the penultimate race of 2021, with the Shadwell bred filly finishing second, saying: “Gary is based in Dubai, he has a company out there called Allsopp and Allsopp. He’s been involved in my Dubai based EERC for a number of years and been in with some nice horses like Los Barbados. He’s supported some of the thoroughbred syndicates in the UK, like Highclere Racing and is part of their Cachet syndicate and he’s had shares in a few horses that ran at Cheltenham this year. Halfway through last season, he supported us straightaway, even though he was unlikely to be able to come racing very often.

“Then when Shadwell decided to kindly lease a few, he said he’s always wanted to have his own colours and his own horse, so we got him Balqees. Since then I’ ve bought Felix (a thoroughbred with Marco Botti) for him and now Wanaasa and we’re in discussions to buy two more. He’s very interested in Arabian racing and I think he’s going to be a big player in it going forward. ”

Looking ahead to what the Club and syndicate members could enjoy this season Byrne continues: “The main targets for some of the horses will be some of the big races, obviously we’ll be looking forward to the Goodwood day, but dependent on the overseas horses that come, I think the Group races are definitely a possibility. I think we’ ve got a couple of nice horses for the maidens and I think we’ ve got a couple of good chances to win early in the season which would be great, as if the people can have good days out that should encourage more to join.

Balqees (FR)

© Debbie Burt

“I think the whole of racing needs to embrace syndicates more. Having four runner races at Newmarket is heart breaking, especially on Guineas weekend. Horse racing isn’t cheap, but I think we need to offer the people more, you can get people engaged in the sport by looking after them. I understand they can’t give club members the same as full owners, but in Dubai we have a specific box just for the syndicates to go in, they ’re happy to buy their own drinks and a bit of food, but it’s a good day out and it can attract people into outright ownership.

Racing Club members enjoy a visit to the gallops in Newmarket in May with Derek Thompson and Bob Champion

© Debbie Burt

As to plans for when the UK season ends, as to whether they might be tempted to go abroad, Byrne concludes: “I would like to take two or three of the Arabians we’ ve got here out to Dubai for the winter. My only concern is I’d like them to go as invited horses for the Carnival from James, as I don’t want to take them from James and give them to another trainer out there and then bringing them back, as I don’t feel that always works. I’ ve tried that in the past with thoroughbreds and I’m not a huge fan of it.

“So it will depend if the Dubai Racing Club will invite Arabians for the Carnival and, if not, then they will need to get a high enough rating to be invited to the Abu Dhabi race, or the Kahayla Classic. Those would obviously be targets, but if we could get a Carnival invite then I would love to take Wanaasa, Al Kaaser and possibly Balqees, and though he's involved in Al Kaaser, it would be perfect to take both of Gary ’s horses out, with him being Dubai resident. ”