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Hard work and patience are key ingredients to progressing in the thoroughbred industry, and Colum McCullagh, climbing from a stud gardener to racing and bloodstock manager for Peter Snowden, has them both in spades.

Growing up in County Meath, Ireland, McCullagh’s earliest memories of the thoroughbred industry consist of regular trips to the local jumps racing yard with his father.

“My dad had a couple of point-to-pointers - slow ones, mind you,” McCullagh told TTR AusNZ. “I used to be put up on the pony, walking around the yard at that stage.”

 

McCullagh would not pursue a career in the saddle, but he would re-engage with the industry as a late teenager when he took up a summer gardening job with Robert Byrne’s Platinum Bloodstock. His employment coincided with the start of yearling preparation, and it wasn’t long before McCullagh found himself holding the end of a leadrope.

“I learned the ropes there (Platinum Bloodstock) on horse husbandry and how to handle them properly,” said McCullagh. “It was quite clear to me early on that I caught the bug and I (have) never looked back.”

After finishing school, McCullagh spent a year working full time for Platinum Bloodstock, before moving to Kildangan Stud, the Irish base of Darley Europe. He would work the breeding season, summer in New York working in construction for his brother-in-law, then return for the breaking-in season in the autumn.

 

After three years with Darley, McCullagh applied for the revered Irish National Stud thoroughbred breeding management course.

“That was a really good jump start,” said McCullagh, who was part of the 2015 intake. “It’s obviously a very well-renowned course, and it gave me a foundation for what way I wanted to go and how to get there.”

McCullagh added polish to his resume for the rest of that year with sales work and breaking in yearlings, and it would be in that winter, while working for Moyglare Stud in County Kildare, that he would be inspired to make an international move.

“It was December in the cold depths of winter in Ireland and we were lunging yearlings,” reminisced McCullagh. “It was hammering down with rain, the wind was howling, it was freezing cold, and I said, I (have) got to go somewhere warmer.”

A warm Australian welcome

Landing in Australia soon after, McCullagh headed straight to the Hunter Valley to work for Arrowfield Stud.

“(Arrowfield) is a household name in the Australian breeding industry,” he said. “I got to do a bit of everything there, I’ll always be thankful to the Messaras for giving me that opportunity.”

In June of 2016, he was introduced to Warwick Farm’s resident multiple Group 1-winning trainer Matthew Smith, which would lead to his first proper exposure to the Australian racing industry.

 

Matthew Smith | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

 

“Thankfully he (Matthew Smith) saw some sort of spark in me, and offered me a role,” said McCullagh, who became Smith’s racing manager for the next two and a half years. Smith had never had a racing manager before, and McCullagh described working together with him to figure out how that role could best serve Smith’s successful training business.

“I had some great guidance from him, and also Melissa (Smith), who is really the backbone of the business. They gave me a fantastic grounding on the racing side of things.”

McCullagh continued, “Matt is very good with a stayer, (and) he really has a knack with older mares.” Shining examples of Smith’s success have been Hurtle Myrtle (Dane Shadow) and Nimalee (So You Think {NZ}), who were both 5-year-olds when victorious at the highest level.

“He’s grown that business a lot since I left and he’s got no bigger supporter than me, it’s great to see him doing so well,” added McCullagh. “We were lucky enough to have Fierce Impact in the stable when I was there, and then I left and he won two Group 1s, which I missed out on!”

 

Imported to Australia in late 2017, Fierce Impact (Jpn) retired to stud with three top-flight victories to his name, capped by the G1 Makybe Diva S. His oldest progeny appeared at the yearling sales earlier this year, landing in the stables of renowned judges Lindsay Park, Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, and Michael Freedman.

New connections

In early 2019, McCullagh made the move to Randwick and took on the role of racing manager for Peter and Paul Snowden.

“The role I have now is very open, it can change a lot,” McCullagh said, who has expanded this role in the last five years to cover bloodstock interests as well. “It (has given) me that opportunity to learn from the best, from the racing side of things, but also the bloodstock, buying, selling, trading side of things. I’ve been lucky that I’ve learned from the best in both dimensions.”

An exciting aspect has been helping the client base expand, and exploring new avenues, including tapping into the import market.

“Bloodstock has always been a love of mine,” McCullagh continued. “When I went to the Snowdens, they never really bought and syndicated yearlings and imports, (but) since I’ve been there, we’ve made a huge kick in the market, and we’ve had great success doing it. There’s a huge appetite for the staying races and the prizemoney.”

High-profile Northern Hemisphere acquisitions in recent years include rising star Touristic (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and high flying Huetor (Fr) (Archipenko {USA}).

“We selected and purchased (Huetor) from France for a very reasonable price,” said McCullagh. “He’s won two Doomben Cups now, and hopefully he can head down to Melbourne and make his presence felt this spring.”

Exciting prospects

With the arrival of the new racing season, attention turns to the 2-year-olds, and the first appearances of potential breed-shaping colts.

“The Snowdens have always been dubbed as juvenile trainers, with their success putting colts to stud.” In his tenure with Team Snowden, McCullagh has witnessed colts such as Captivant, Cosmic Force, and Wild Ruler secure their place at stud. “We always get the support of the colt syndicates. For us, those are our high market owners.”

Two new stallion prospects have emerged in the past season in Don Corleone, set to stand at Eureka Stud, and King’s Gambit, a new addition to Newgate Farm’s formidable roster. Seeing the latter win the G2 Roman Consul was a highlight of the racing season for McCullagh.

“There was a lot of work put into that horse to get him where he was,” McCullagh said. “We had a very high high that day, and then we had a very low low when he popped a temp a couple of days before the Coolmore down in Melbourne but seeing him go off to stud now is obviously exciting.”

The newly turned 3-year-olds offer several exciting prospects in McCullagh’s eyes, chief among them being High Octane (Deep Field) and Bodyguard (I Am Invincible).

On Bodyguard, “he's probably one of the best-looking horses you've ever seen, and he's back in great shape, hopefully he's in for an exciting spring.” Bodyguard has yet to step out in the new racing season, but High Octane was mostly recently seen bolting home after Group 3 winner Kibou (Maurice {Jpn}) in a Randwick trial.

“Another highlight would be seeing Xidaki win the (G3) Winx Guineas,” added McCullagh. Bred and owned by Angelo 'Lucky' Pippos, Xidaki (Zoustar) was also victorious in the Listed Canberra Guineas earlier in the year. “He’s for a very special owner. It was very rewarding to get that stakes win for him, a very special moment.”

Having patience

McCullagh feels fortunate to be able to continue learning as the Snowden training partnership transitions back to Peter Snowden at the helm, with his son stepping back to spend time with his family.

“Peter is a very hands-on trainer, always had that approach,” McCullagh said. “I learn a lot from him in terms of horse husbandry - it’s almost as if he can read horses’ minds sometimes, it’s bizarre!

“I will forever be in debt for what he has taught me to date, in terms of training, business, life. He’s a fantastic mentor. Paul needs to be included in that too.”

McCullagh is also appreciative of the opportunities available in the Australian industry, “if you’re willing to work hard and apply yourself, you’ll get noticed. Employers will find you.” Although he does impress the need for patience as well as work ethic.

 

Reminiscing on a job interview with Malachy Ryan, manager of Moyglare Stud, McCullagh recalled having “the cheek” to ask for more money, “(Ryan) said don't worry, you need to not panic, money will come, and he was right. You think you want to get to the top as fast as possible, and you need to have a little bit of patience.

“If you work hard, apply yourself, and - as we say - surround yourself with the best people and surround your horses with the worst horses, you'll be sure of getting a winner.”