Eoin Doyle’s Ashgrove Stables in Mooncoin, Co. Kilkenny has produced over 270 winners. The 36-year-old currently has 28 horses in training, the majority of which are owned by syndicates.
The well-known national hunt and flat trainer, who is married to Gemma and has three children, Katie (10), Maebh (five) and Noel (three), took over the family stables in Ashgrove in 2001, having inherited a love for racing from his late father Noel.
Noel was perhaps best-known as the founder of Suir Engineering – which is one of the country’s leading electrical firms – in 1984. After Noel’s passing in 1997, most of Suir Engineering’s shares rested with his wife, Pauline, who eventually sold the Waterford-based company after 10 years to the Dutch giant Imtech.
Eoin has fond memories of a youth spent lining out for the Mooncoin hurlers and accompanying his father to race meetings all over the country. Noel owned a number of racehorses, which fuelled Eoin’s passion for the ‘Sport of Kings’. The youngster’s fascination with all things equine led to him riding as an amateur jockey for three seasons and spending summers with the legendary Aidan O’Brien at his old stables in Owning.
Despite having enjoyed a relatively successful career as a trainer to date, Doyle has yet to fulfil his dream which is to train a Grade 1 winner. “That’s the goal for every trainer and that’s what I’ve been working towards since I got my licence. I won’t be happy until I achieve that,” he says.
Arguably Eoin’s most successful horse has been The Fonze, which won 16 races for him on the flat and over hurdles. The Fonze’s biggest win came in the Red Mills Grade 2 Chase in Gowran in 2010 when he beat the great War of Attrition. Other quality horses have included Mojito Royale, Coin Man, Ucan Bolt, No Full, which ran in the 2008 Grand National, and Satu, which won the Ladbrokes Grade 2 Hurdle in Killarney in 2012. The Rossmiester, Hawaii Five Nil and Raggletagglegypsy have also produced the goods for Eoin.
“We had some great years – 2010, 2012 and 2013 immediately spring to mind,” the affable trainer continues.
“The Fonze was a brilliant horse for us. We also trained Mountainous to win a Point to Point before he was sold on to Richard Lee who won the Welsh National with him in 2013.”
As a relatively small trainer, Eoin faces a constant challenge to retain his best horses.
“Many of our best horses are sold to big clients in England. That’s the nature of the business. We bring a lot of young horses through from the Point to Point scene and they are sold on. It’s always difficult to hold onto your best stock. That’s why it’s so important to have new and quality stock coming through to replace them.”
At the time of writing, Ashgrove Stables had 10 winners on the track so far this year, including three-in-a-row on the flat in Roscommon, Clonmel and Limerick. The Stable’s brightest prospects would appear to be Breenainthemycra, Scoresheet and Jetstream Joe. Eoin’s jockeys include Donagh Meyler, Mikey Butler and AF O’Neill.
Ashgrove Stables are located on the outskirts of Mooncoin in south Co. Kilkenny. The state-of-the-art facilities include a new six furlong woodchip gallop, a three furlong circle gap, two horse walkers, a schooling ground, a lunging area and 46 stables. The stables’ paddocks afford horses a well-deserved break from their training routines. Friendly and dedicated staff provide a personal service for your horse.
Like all Kilkenny men, Eoin loves his hurling. As a youngster, he played for Mooncoin and won numerous underage titles before receiving a call-up to the South Kilkenny minor squad in 1997. However, his interest in horse racing outweighed other commitments and he has concentrated solely on that for the last 15 years.
Ashgrove Stables assumed the sponsorship of Mooncoin GAA from Suir Engineering and continues to support the club to this day. Mooncoin is one of Kilkenny’s most successful clubs with 12 senior hurling championships and one senior football championship to its credit. It has produced numerous All-Ireland hurling medal winners, including the famous Dick ‘Drug’ Walsh, who captained Kilkenny to All-Ireland wins in 1907, 1909 and 1913.
Unsurprisingly, Eoin is a huge admirer of Brian Cody, who recently guided the Cats to their 11th Liam MacCarthy Cup since 2000.
“Brian is the greatest manager the game has ever seen. He’s an inspiration to all. If I could be half as successful as him as a trainer, I’d be very happy!” he concludes.
Ashgrove Stables
Ashgrove,
Mooncoin,
Co. Kilkenny.
Telephone: 051 895171
Mobile: 086 2719453
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 1, January 2016
