While I’m not from a racing background, I grew up surrounded by the sport in rural Tipperary. The Aidan O’Brien and Tommy Stack yards are just a short drive away, so it was hard not to take an interest in ‘the Sport of Kings’.
I didn’t intend to be a racing journalist but a chance arose to write a betting exchange-related article for the Irish Field newspaper in June 2005 and things took off from there. In early 2006, I cleverly decided to leave my college studies to take a job as an Irish racing analyst for the newly formed ‘The Sportsman’ newspaper, which went out of business the following October. I wouldn’t change a thing though. It was a very productive period and I learned an awful lot about the journalism game.
I kept the freelance work ticking over until in February 2007 when I was offered a job as Timeform’s first ever Irish representative, an opportunity I jumped at. Things have been going great since then and I currently have no complaints of note!
My main betting interest is horseracing, which I tend to be very selective with, but I will have a bet on rugby union, mixed martial arts or boxing when I have a very strong opinion. Outside of that, any remaining time/energy tends to be put into a few broodmares I have accumulated at home over the past five years.
