Image © Healy Racing
Vinnie Devereux admitted that he got a huge kick out of seeing one of his former point-to-pointer, Meetmebythesea, go on and win recently at the prestigious Cheltenham Festival.
The Tacumshane handler had saddled Meetmebythesea to finish second in a four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Monksgrange, with the Watar gelding progressing into a Festival winner when he landed the Grade 2 Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase for owner JP McManus and trainer Ben Pauling.
For Devereux, who operates on a small scale, the result marked a hugely satisfying moment as a horse he produced went on to score on jump racing’s biggest stage.
“I was over the moon,” he said. “I watched it at home on my own on the sofa. I didn’t even go over, and I’m sorry now I didn’t — it might be the only time I’ll have an interest over there.”
Bred locally by Maurice Day, Meetmebythesea came into Devereux’s yard in low-key fashion, with little expectation attached in the early days.
Day, who runs the well-known Killinick Gallops in Wexford, is part of a family steeped in the sport, with his brother Dermot continuing to stand the gelding’s sire Watar at Moortown Stud in Ballycogley.
“Maurice is a friend of mine up the road and he bred him,” Devereux explained. “He asked me would I take him for point-to-pointing and I wasn’t too keen at the start. He said just do him a favour and do a bit with him.
“The idea was that his daughter might go eventing with him because he was such a good-looking horse, so that’s how it started. We just kept going with him and had no real expectations.”
However, the gelding quickly began to show ability at home, improving with each piece of work.
“The more we did with him, the more he showed. We brought him away to a few schooling days and schooling bumpers and every day he did more than we expected.”
A quiet and straightforward type, his temperament also stood out from an early stage.
“He was very quiet, very easy. The owner’s daughter used to come down and ride him out at the weekends. He was always a very straightforward horse to deal with.”
That promise translated on debut at Monksgrange in March 2024, where Meetmebythesea finished a highly encouraging second in a four-year-old maiden, shaping like a horse with a future.
“I wouldn’t say we fancied him, but we were hopeful,” Devereux recalled. “You never know what you’re up against in those races, but we thought he might run well and be placed.”
His performance there quickly caught the attention of buyers, and a private sale was concluded within days.
“A bloodstock agent, Dan Astbury, rang me and asked for a price. He mentioned he had two men interested from Ben Pauling’s yard and would come back to me within five minutes with a yes or no.
“He rang back in about two minutes to say JP McManus would take him. That was it — he was vetted the next day and paid for on the same day. It all happened very quickly.”
From there, Meetmebythesea has gone on to thrive under Rules, developing into a six-time winner before delivering a career-best performance at Cheltenham.
For Devereux, the result is all the more notable given the scale at which he operates, combining farming with training a small number of horses each season.
“I’d be farming mostly cattle. The most I’d have would be five or six point-to-pointers, and this year I’ve only had two. It’s hard to get help to ride them.
“It makes it all the more special when you see one go on and do that.”
Reflecting on the gelding’s rise, Devereux acknowledged how unlikely his path to the top level may have seemed in the early days.
“If you brought him to the sales, they probably wouldn’t even come to your door. Being by Watar and out of a flat-bred mare, he wouldn’t have been fashionable, but he was always a fine, big, strong horse.
“That’s the thing - you just never know.”
Meetmebythesea may prove difficult to replace, but the success has provided a major boost to the yard, with Devereux hoping another young prospect can follow a similar path.
“I’ve another one there now, Meetmebythelake,” he added. “It’s the same owner involved again, and we’ll hopefully get him out in the next couple of weeks. He’s a nice horse.”
For a small yard in Wexford, producing a Cheltenham Festival winner remains a rare achievement, but one that highlights the vital role point-to-point handlers continue to play in developing future stars of the sport.
