From the film industry to first place for Sheehy

 

The Jukebox Jury-sired grey, who is owned and bred by Dominic’s father Maurice Sheehy, jumped fluently throughout to record a comfortable two-and-a-half-length victory, confirming the promise he had shown when third on his return at Curraghmore last month. This was only Sheehy’s fourth runner and marked a memorable milestone for the Wicklow handler.

 

“It was great to get that first one on the board, especially so early on,” said Sheehy. “Hopefully we can keep the ball rolling now. We’ve had an offer for Grey Balls Of Fire already, so that’ll probably be one less in the yard soon enough.”

 

Operating from his father’s Ballyfree House in Glenealy, County Wicklow, Sheehy currently has around 15 horses in training, with more due to come in shortly. The setup includes a gallop, walker, lunge ring, arena and solarium, all part of a growing family operation built around the Sheehys’ long-standing breeding interests.

 

“They’re all homebreds here,” he explained. “We’ve yearlings, two-year-olds and three-year-olds in the pipeline, and the four- and five-year-olds are the ones I’m training to sell on. We’ll keep a few for future breeding, but the main aim is to produce nice young horses and move them on.”

 

Remarkably, the 31-year-old, who is allergic to horses, only learned to ride three years ago, having previously worked in photography and film in Canada.

 

“I only got into horses about three years ago. To be honest, I was never that interested before. I’m allergic to them, which probably didn’t help.

"During Covid, I was out of work, so I started helping out at home and got hooked. My mam, Paula, taught me to ride on one of the old retired racehorses, and within six months I was riding the racehorses every day.

 

“Before that I was working over in Canada in film as a freelance production assistant. I studied photography in college, but my heart was never really in it. Once I started riding, that was it. I knew where I wanted to be.”

 

Sheehy took out his handler’s licence earlier this year, stepping up after the previous trainer in the yard left unexpectedly.

 

“The last trainer left suddenly back in March and I was left managing about 20 horses,” he explained. “So I decided to take out the licence myself to keep things going. It’s been flat out since, but I’m loving it.”

 

While Dominic’s name is on the licence, he is quick to credit his father Maurice for the operation’s success.

 

“Dad is far more than just the money man, he’s a massive part of it all,” he said. “He’s been a farmer all his life and he’s taught me everything I know. He’s put huge trust in me to train his horses and has taken a big risk letting me do it.

"I just hope I can repay his faith in me. He’s there every step of the way, from driving the box when we go schooling to helping around the yard. None of this would be happening without him.”

 

The family-run setup relies on a small, hard-working team.

 

“A local girl comes in most mornings to ride a couple of lots with me, and then I’m on my own for the rest of the day. There’s also a young lad who helps out on weekends and school holidays. He’ll hopefully be my main jockey once he gets his licence.”

 

For now, Sheehy trains solely for his father, but he doesn’t rule out expanding in time.

 

“At the minute it’s just Dad’s horses, but once we get a few sold and the numbers down a bit, I’d like to start training for others. We’ve plenty of young stock coming through, so it’s exciting times.”

As a late starter to horses, Sheehy has become a winning handler in just three years. His enthusiasm for the sport is evident, and it is very likely that we will hear a lot more from the Ballyfree House operation in the future.