McMahon excited by Carsena Bloodstocks first four-year-old runners

 

The Celbridge native rode as an amateur from the age of 16 until stepping away from the saddle at 24, a decision made with a clear view towards his long-term future within the sport.

 

“I had some great days riding, but realistically I wasn’t going to be the next Ruby Walsh or Derek O’Connor. I didn’t want to be riding on for years and then all of a sudden be 30 and looking to see what I was going to do next,” explained McMahon.

 

Always keenly interested in viewing and selecting horses, McMahon stepped away from riding to establish Temple Bloodstock in 2022, with the aim of giving people a straightforward and affordable way to get involved in racehorse ownership, before later expanding into sourcing horses for private clients.

 

“It’s a great balance. Every horse I buy, there’s a reason for buying it. Some might go to private clients, and ultimately I can put a horse into syndicate with Temple Bloodstock as well. It’s a nice position to be in.”

 

Although he admits that training horses would appeal to him in theory, McMahon feels the practical realities of training today make it a difficult path to pursue.

 

“I’d love to train horses, but not in the current climate. It’s very hard to get staff, and for everything you’d have to put in - gallops, walkers and other facilities - and then trying to get owners and start up from scratch. I’m very happy with what I’m doing now, sourcing horses and letting the likes of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Gavin Cromwell do what they do best.”

 

The relationship with Carsena Bloodstock was formed around this time last year, when McMahon was approached by a new client interested in establishing a trading operation focused on store horses.

 

“We had a meeting and they expressed an interest in buying some store horses to trade them. So we sat down and came up with the foundations of Carsena Bloodstock and how we’d get the operation going.”

 

Carsena’s first batch of youngsters have been split between two proven operators on the point-to-point circuit, with three horses in the care of Pat Doyle and five with Gerald Quinn.

 

“We bought five at the Arkle Sale and three at the Derby Sale. Pat Doyle has three of them and Gerald Quinn has five of them. They’re a nice bunch of horses now and there’s no bad reports about any of them — they’re all doing their work well, schooling well, and we hope a couple of them should be able to run in the early four-year-old maidens.”

 

The opening weeks of the season are always a period of anticipation, and McMahon is realistic about the inevitable setbacks that come with young horses.

 

“We expect speed bumps along the way, as everyone does in racing, but it would be fantastic if Carsena could get off to a good start.”

 

One of the first Carsena runners could come from Doyle’s Suirview yard in mid-February, a Walk In The Park gelding from the Derby Sale out of a Presenting mare called Seanchai.

 

“Our first runner could be in mid-February with Pat Doyle - a lovely gelding by Walk In The Park,” McMahon said after watching the youngster on the gallops earlier this week.

 

From Gerald Quinn’s yard, a filly named Baraka Bella has also been making encouraging progress.

 

“Gerald is very happy with his bunch of horses. He has a Goliath Du Berlais filly there and she probably sticks out.”

 

The wider Carsena squad has been assembled to give the operation options, with care taken to avoid relying too heavily on any single stallion line, while keeping the commercial end-goal firmly in mind.

 

“We bought from a nice range of sires. We bought a Crystal Ocean, who is after taking off and looks a fantastic stallion. We bought a Jukebox Jury, a filly by Goliath Du Berlais, a Moises Has and a Kapgarde. We didn’t put all our eggs in one basket with any particular sire.”

 

McMahon describes himself as “very price oriented”, with every purchase measured against value, resale potential and margin.

 

“For Carsena, I’m looking at a horse and thinking, if this horse goes and wins as a four-year-old, what can he realistically make? Those are calculations I have to make in my own head.”

 

He believes the eight-store team has been bought with the necessary headroom.

 

“I think we bought all of the stock nicely and there’s plenty of margin. They’re all very tradable for what we paid for them. If they were to be bought again tomorrow, I’d be happy to give the same for them.”

 

While public auction remains part of the process when required, his preference is increasingly for private purchases whenever possible.

 

“It’s called the mobile phone. I prefer to buy privately if I can avoid the sales - that suits everyone and it suits me better.”

 

That judgement has already been underlined by Honesty Policy, McMahon’s first Grade 1 winner as an agent. The Jukebox Jury gelding finished second on his point-to-point debut for Pat Doyle in a Castletown Geoghegan four-year-old maiden and was subsequently purchased by McMahon on Doyle’s recommendation before being placed with Gordon Elliott.

Snapped up by J.P. McManus, he progressed quickly under Rules, winning twice over hurdles before landing Grade 1 honours in the Turners Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree, a breakthrough success that significantly boosted McMahon’s profile.

 

“I’d be lying if I said I thought he’d be a Grade 1 horse, but I bought him thinking he could definitely develop into a good racehorse. He was a nice horse by a good sire, Jukebox Jury, and he didn’t cost six figures. He was well bought.”

 

“He was my first Grade 1 winner as an agent and it’s very hard to get your hands on Grade 1 horses. So I took a lot of pride in it. It gives you confidence going forward and it definitely gave my profile as an agent a huge boost.”

 

Despite the growing commercial demand in the point-to-point sphere, McMahon remains comfortable operating away from the obvious end of the market.

 

“I’m not in the market for giving three or four hundred thousand for top four-year-olds. I’d be looking at placed horses, green horses, maybe ones running later on. I’m looking for horses that will improve — you need an angle in this game.

 

“If it was as simple as just following in and buying the four-year-old winners, everyone would be doing it. You need to be looking elsewhere.”

 

Point-to-point racing remains central to how McMahon operates, and he has been on the road visiting yards since the autumn, maintaining close contact with trainers as the four-year-olds are prepared to run.

 

“The grounding they get as four- and five-year-olds sets them up for their whole career. It effectively is their first day of school.”

 

With Carsena Bloodstock now in motion and its first runners nearing, McMahon is conscious of the opportunity in front of him.

“It’s a big opportunity for me. I’m a nervous type of character anyway with every horse I buy, but hopefully this time next year Carsena will be a recognised name and we can be successful going forward.”