Nearly 40 years ago, John O’Meara left his native Ireland, and after stops in a couple of other countries, he made his way to the United States. After working at different farms during his earliest years in the U.S., O’Meara in 2002 paid $1,314,493 for a portion of the old 505 Farm. His parcel is now named Milestone Farm after an Irish Draught stallion his father stood in Ireland.
“Even to this day, (he’s) still very influential in the pedigrees of all the good jumping horses in America,” O’Meara said of Milestone.
With a career as an owner and breeder, O’Meara has had modest success on the track. But thanks to a precocious 4-year-old filly, O’Meara may be looking at his best year as an owner.
The Pennsylvania-bred Roses for Debra (Liam’s Map —Essential Rose) is 3-for-3 this year, and maybe most importantly for a lifetime horseman like O’Meara, she delivered him his first graded stakes win in the July 22 Caress Stakes (G3T) at Saratoga Race Course. O’Meara is just $109,750 away from matching his best year of earnings (2015).
O’Meara spoke with BloodHorse MarketWatch to discuss his career, being a small operator, as well as some of the horses he’s bred that he’s excited about.
MarketWatch: Tell me about how you got your start in the industry.
John O’Meara: Well, I came from Ireland in 1982 to work for Spendthrift and I worked there for ’82 and I worked for Gainesway in ’83. And I left Gainesway to go to work for Carl Nafzger. And I spent five or six years working for him. And then I left him and went to work…in Chicago as a private trainer and then left to go to work for Audley Farm in Berryville, Virginia.
MW: With all these stops that you’ve made throughout your career, was there a particular person or lesson that was really vital to your career development?
JO: Well, Michael Osborne at the Irish National Stud was probably the most influential person in my life. Basically, I was a green, young Irish fella and he made the horse business look good to me. I grew up on a horse farm so I knew about horses and (how to) take care of them, but he taught me a lot of stuff about the business, and I did this Irish National Stud management course in 1979. And then, I went to Australia from there and spent a year in Australia and a year in New Zealand and came over here in ’82 and Carl Nafzger had a lot to do with my success.
MW: You have the horses that you train, but did you breed horses as well?
JO: After working for Audley Farm, I ended up working for Country Life in Maryland for Josh and Mike Pons. They are good guys. And I left there and went to work for Rich Decker at Prestonwood Farm as a yearling manager, and I ran the breeding shed for them because I had experience with stallions. Then they got me the job managing Spendthrift when Spendthrift had gone through bankruptcy, and then I left Spendthrift and went to work I went on my own (in January of 1996).
MW: What sort of challenges do you face being out on your own compared to being with a large-scale farm?
JO: Making payroll is the biggest one. Dealing with quality horses; you don’t get to do that when you are starting out. Just working your ass off, having no help, and just trying to do as much as you can yourself—be the night man and the day man yourself. … But the good thing is you have nobody hounding you, nobody except the bank. And I wouldn’t have that if I didn’t stick my neck out and buy the farm. I was renting land and then the 505 Farm came up for sale. And I put my hand up and bought 165 acres of that place and I’ve been trying to deal with that for the last 20 years.
MW: Tell me about your operations today. What is it like?
JO: Well, I have 15 broodmares on my own. And I board horses for other people. Quite a few seasonal boarders come in in the spring and go home, hopefully in foal. And then I make a living by selling foals and yearlings of what I buy and breed, and then what I can’t sell I usually race. I’ve been fairly successful doing that.
Roses for Debra wins the Caress Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
MW: Roses for Debra is your first graded stakes winner. What does that victory mean to you?
JO: It’s nice to have a nice horse and people recognize her. It’s nice to have horses good enough to go to the top circuit and race in the top races with top trainers taking care of them.
MW: What’s next for her?
JO: The next race is the Smart N Fancy Stakes August 25 in Saratoga.
MW: Who are some of your up-and-coming horses that you’re excited about?
JO: Are you familiar with Big Invasion ? He is by Declaration of War and Curls in Place who’s a Curlin mare that I bred. Christophe Clement trains him for Reeves Thoroughbred Racing. He’s by Declaration of War, which is not very fashionable because he’s gone (to Japan), and he won six of eight starts last year. And he was second in the Jaipur (Stakes, G1T) this year after winning a stakes in the springtime. He was second in the Jaipur which is a top grade-1 sprinter. And they took him to Ascot and he had a bad trip getting there and he pulled a shoe off in the starting gate and didn’t run well. But he’s back in training with Christophe Clement now. The goal is the Breeders’ Cup (Turf) Sprint (G1T). … I have a half sister to him. … Still in training with Bill Mott called Feathering . She ran at Saratoga (July 20), first time out and she ran seven-eighths of a mile and she was right there in contention as they made the turn into the straight and got tired. … She’s doing fine. Hopefully you get another race at Saratoga. That’s one of the most promising ones. I have some 2-year-olds in training in Chicago with Brian Cook; they are progressing nicely for racing in the fall.
Big Invasion wins the Silks Run Stakes at Gulfstream Park
MW: What can you say about the pride you take in being a small-time operator?
JO: It’s great to me. First off, it’s great to be able to make a living in America. I wouldn’t be able to do this in Ireland; I left there a long time ago, 40 years ago. The opportunity is there, you just have to get up and go after it. There are people in America that give you a shot just because you’re Irish, because you have a good work ethic, and because more than likely you know what you’re doing. I can’t really put anything down to success except hard work and treating people like they want to be treated.
