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Trainer Niall Collum on on Courting First-Time Owners

Ireland’s Niall Collum has settled at Woodbine as a trainer and is working at building up a small, successful stable complete with first-time horse owners.

By: Jennifer Morrison | March 1, 2019

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you're listening to an article from canadian thoroughbred.com. trainer niall collum on on courting first-time owners by: jennifer morrison. tracks throughout north america continue to seek answers to boosting field size in races. encouraging new faces to invest in a racehorse or two continues to prove to be a challenge as some of the bigger, older stables begin to shrink. at woodbine, trainer niall collum is one of a wave of up-and-coming horsepeople working hard to build a small, successful stable complete with first-time horse owners. collum, who has an impressive resume travelling the world with some of the world’s biggest, is setting up for his third year training at woodbine. in his barn will be the first thoroughbreds for new owner john lennox, a real estate developer from port dover, on. advertisement scroll to continue with content lennox, a former standardbred owner who is involved in show jumping, was with collum at the recent keeneland january horses of racing age sale in lexington, ky and will have his first runners at woodbine in the spring. for collum, his journey through racing began at an early age in his homeland of ireland. “i was in the boy scouts and through the bob-a-job program (where scouts get a job for some pay), i did some gardening for (legendary trainer) vincent o’brien. i took an interest in horses and he took an interest in me and he taught me how to ride.”. by the time he was a teenager, collum was riding in steeplechase races, something he did for 10 years before he joined the huge aidan o’brien training yard at ballydoyle in newmarket, england. six years later, he moved to dubai with the famous godolphin stable and travelled the world with star runners including caulfield cup winner all the good. to continue furthering his career, collum crossed the ocean and signed on as an assistant to american trainer eddie kenneally before visa issues had him return to england where he trained horses with ismail mohammed for the dubai racing club. seeking to train under his own name, collum, unable to return to the u.s. to work, came to canada with his wife andrea (a canadian and veterinary surgeon). “it’s has been a slow and steady build,” said collum. “i had to start at the bottom again, but i have learned a lot since i have been here. i have been lucky to have started out with some good owners such as bob and marilyn carey, jason and bob copeman and brian o’leary. with the horses i have had, we have done well.”. it was through the careys, who are prominent in show jumping and equestrian circles, that collum met lennox, a business partner of bob carey. when lennox expressed interest in getting involved in racing, collum set out a business plan for him. “i wrote down what he was going to need to get going in the business, how he would go about it,” said collum. “it took about a year but we were at the keeneland january sale this winter and we picked up a couple of nice racing fillies.”. the two gals, both in ocala, fl preparing for woodbine, are lucky girasol — a winner and black-type placed 3-year-old by lookin at lucky purchased for $35,000 — and prairie citizen, a 4-year-old winner by proud citizen, that was a private purchase from the sale. lennox also added to his broodmare band, which now numbers seven and resides at shannondoe farm. two recent purchases include monday valentine, a smart strike mare in foal to the great california chrome for $27,000 and our candy charms, a young candy ride (arg) mare in foal to creative cause for $20,000. for collum, not only is he keen on starting the year with a slightly-improved calibre of horses, but he also wants to continue to bring new people into the sport. “woodbine is a grade a track with great racing, a top clubhouse and food,” said collum. “if we had a track like that at home (in england) it would be packed. i think we need to promote the track and racing more; have student nights, there are so many colleges and universities nearby. and make the food affordable. but i believe marketing is everything.”. collum is up front to prospective horse owners, letting them know that there is not much better a feeling than having a horse hit the board or win a race, but it is a costly venture. “you pay for the thrills of racing a horse,” said collum. “that is why i believe in syndicates, it really helped out racing in england. you can put together a small group of owners and lessen the cost.”. when woodbine’s 2019 season opens on april 20, collum will be one of the trainers to watch at the track as well as a passionate champion of the sport. “building up a new stable is a slow, steady process but i am looking forward to what lies ahead.”. &&>

Tracks throughout North America continue to seek answers to boosting field size in races. Encouraging new faces to invest in a racehorse or two continues to prove to be a challenge as some of the bigger, older stables begin to shrink.

At Woodbine, trainer Niall Collum is one of a wave of up-and-coming horsepeople working hard to build a small, successful stable complete with first-time horse owners.

Collum, who has an impressive resume travelling the world with some of the world’s biggest, is setting up for his third year training at Woodbine. In his barn will be the first thoroughbreds for new owner John Lennox, a real estate developer from Port Dover, ON.

Scroll to continue with content

Lennox, a former standardbred owner who is involved in show jumping, was with Collum at the recent Keeneland January Horses of Racing Age sale in Lexington, KY and will have his first runners at Woodbine in the spring.

For Collum, his journey through racing began at an early age in his homeland of Ireland.

“I was in the Boy Scouts and through the Bob-a-Job program (where Scouts get a job for some pay), I did some gardening for (legendary trainer) Vincent O’Brien. I took an interest in horses and he took an interest in me and he taught me how to ride.”

By the time he was a teenager, Collum was riding in steeplechase races, something he did for 10 years before he joined the huge Aidan O’Brien training yard at Ballydoyle in Newmarket, England.

Six years later, he moved to Dubai with the famous Godolphin stable and travelled the world with star runners including Caulfield Cup winner All The Good.

To continue furthering his career, Collum crossed the ocean and signed on as an assistant to American trainer Eddie Kenneally before visa issues had him return to England where he trained horses with Ismail Mohammed for the Dubai Racing Club.

Seeking to train under his own name, Collum, unable to return to the U.S. to work, came to Canada with his wife Andrea (a Canadian and veterinary surgeon).

“It’s has been a slow and steady build,” said Collum. “I had to start at the bottom again, but I have learned a lot since I have been here. I have been lucky to have started out with some good owners such as Bob and Marilyn Carey, Jason and Bob Copeman and Brian O’Leary. With the horses I have had, we have done well.”

It was through the Careys, who are prominent in show jumping and equestrian circles, that Collum met Lennox, a business partner of Bob Carey.

When Lennox expressed interest in getting involved in racing, Collum set out a business plan for him.

“I wrote down what he was going to need to get going in the business, how he would go about it,” said Collum. “It took about a year but we were at the Keeneland January sale this winter and we picked up a couple of nice racing fillies.”

The two gals, both in Ocala, FL preparing for Woodbine, are Lucky Girasol — a winner and black-type placed 3-year-old by Lookin at Lucky purchased for $35,000 — and Prairie Citizen, a 4-year-old winner by Proud Citizen, that was a private purchase from the sale.

Lennox also added to his broodmare band, which now numbers seven and resides at Shannondoe Farm.

Two recent purchases include Monday Valentine, a Smart Strike mare in foal to the great California Chrome for $27,000 and Our Candy Charms, a young Candy Ride (Arg) mare in foal to Creative Cause for $20,000.

For Collum, not only is he keen on starting the year with a slightly-improved calibre of horses, but he also wants to continue to bring new people into the sport.

“Woodbine is a Grade A track with great racing, a top clubhouse and food,” said Collum. “If we had a track like that at home (in England) it would be packed. I think we need to promote the track and racing more; have student nights, there are so many colleges and universities nearby. And make the food affordable. But I believe marketing is everything.”

Collum is up front to prospective horse owners, letting them know that there is not much better a feeling than having a horse hit the board or win a race, but it is a costly venture.

“You pay for the thrills of racing a horse,” said Collum. “That is why I believe in syndicates, it really helped out racing in England. You can put together a small group of owners and lessen the cost.”

When Woodbine’s 2019 season opens on April 20, Collum will be one of the trainers to watch at the track as well as a passionate champion of the sport.

“Building up a new stable is a slow, steady process but I am looking forward to what lies ahead.”