“A Good Horse Is A Dangerous Thing In Anyone’s Hands”

[Wandering Eyes]

Fozzy Stack shares his loathing of the limelight, quest for finding a good horse and more

There is a famous quote attributed to Benjamin Disraeli that says, “talk to a man about himself, and he will listen for hours.” Poor old Benjamin clearly never spent a morning in the company of Fozzy Stack-a man who is nothing short of allergic to any form of self praise or adulation. 

For the best part of 25 years, Fozzy has sent out a raft of high-class winners for some of the biggest names in the sport. Yet, the 45-year-old, who officially took over the licence from his legendary father Tommy in 2017, would prefer to talk about anything other than his accomplishments in the game. 

And there have been plenty of those. Aspen Grove (Ire) (Justify) delivered a breakthrough success at the highest level for Fozzy when landing the Belmont Oaks a couple of years ago. That was a significant one, given it came in the colours of owner Craig Bernick, who is as much of a friend as he is a patron to the stable. 

Then there is the fact that Fozzy has sent out a listed or Group winner every year that he has held the licence. No mean feat for a trainer operating in a jurisdiction as competitive as Ireland and for one who keeps his string to just 50 horses most years. 

But even more impressive than those achievements on the track is Fozzy's ability to swat away any unwanted questions or attention just as you would a persistent wasp that has been hovering in front of your face on a warm summer's day. 

Fozzy's lack of interest in dealing in small talk shouldn't be taken as cold or even rude. He's just not wired that way. And, do you know what, in a game full of people who don't mind tooting their own horn, Fozzy's approach is a refreshing one. Unless, of course, you are a journalist. 

“I prefer to let other people do the talking,” he says unapologetically, sneaking in a cigarette whilst out of sight of the eldest of his three children, Emelia, who is busy calling the shots to jockeys Seamie Heffernan and Joey Sheridan on a bitterly cold morning.

“A good horse is a dangerous thing in anyone's hands,” he adds, further deflecting any form of conversation from himself. “What some people may deem to be good trainers or bad trainers, they've enjoyed success simply because they have come across a good horse. So I don't think this is a game where you can become too egotistical. It all goes back to the horse.”

Belmont Oaks winner Aspen Grove | Sarah Andrew

Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Tarascon (Ire) (Tirol {Ire}), Royal Ascot winner Lolly For Dolly (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}), and Prix Morny scorer Myboycharlie (Ire) are just some of the high-class horses who have been trained from this famous Thomastown Castle base near Golden in County Tipperary. Tarascon was partnered to Classic glory by the then baby-faced 17-year-old jockey Jamie Spencer, who was in the same class as Fozzy in school and describes the trainer as having always been “pretty quiet” but “well able to unearth a good one every year.”

Such sentiments were echoed by Heffernan, who has become an increasingly important part of the operation since leaving his role at Ballydoyle last year.

“Some lads love listening to sh*t and others don't,” Heffernan begins. “Like Jesus Christ, some of the rubbish you have to listen to in this game is frightening. And then some lads will treat that rubbish as Gospel. That's not Fozzy's style. He doesn't say a lot but he's well able to train.”

Heffernan continued, “Fozzy was one of the fellas who rang me straight away after I left Ballydoyle. I've ridden winners for him for many years but it's getting harder and harder for people like him to compete with the big boys who have billionaire owners. There's no agenda with Fozzy. He just wants to be surrounded by good horses, look after the people who are closest to him and make a living. 

“I could ask Fozzy for anything-I'd say anything bar money! But seriously, I could ask him to help me out with anything and he'd do the best he could for me. I think he's a bit misunderstood. He probably doesn't sell himself. He can train one when he gets one but, unfortunately, getting them is becoming tough. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.”

There may not be an obvious flag-bearer for the stable to look forward to this season but last year's Irish Lincolnshire winner Chazzesmee (Ire) (Excelebration {Ire}) is on target for the English edition of the race while Grand Marques (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), Bodhi Bear (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Bay Colony (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) “have chances of being nice three-year-olds,” according to the trainer.

But the reality of the situation is that this is a selling yard. A quick scan through last year's haul of winners tells you everything you need to know with the majority of the highly-rated horses having been sold to continue their careers abroad. 

“The prize-money is so bad in this country,” Fozzy says. “It doesn't pay to keep those ordinary horses around the place. And then when you get a good one, whatever you're being offered for them to go to America or Hong Kong or wherever it is, they wouldn't win it in prize-money in six years in Ireland, which is wrong really. I think it's a complete disgrace that you could have a horse rated 100 and, if he manages to win a listed race, he picks up just a little over 20 grand for winning in Ireland. That wouldn't feed him for half the year! Now, that's a good horse. So imagine trying to keep the lesser ones. Prize-money in Ireland is sh*t. We were running for more money in 2008 or 2009 than we are today and the cost of getting the horse to the races now has gone up three-fold.”

For that reason, Fozzy is quite unique in that he owns bits and pieces of the majority of the horses within his care. “Too many,” he concedes. But the trading aspect of the business has amplified due to Irish racing's prize-money remaining stagnant when compared to the rising costs. It's at the sales where Fozzy has been able to pick up the slack.

He explained, “The sales are a very important part of my business. Whenever you buy a horse, you're going to have to live and die by that horse as long as you have it. You have to turn up and work the sales hard. It's probably something I picked up from my father. He used to work the sales hard and was always trading away with yearlings and foals or whatever. Usually I'd buy the sprintery/miler-type. But yearlings were very hard to buy last year. I'd have bits and pieces in plenty of the horses here. Too many of them, actually. But you won't make money in training fees.”

He added, “But I've been training here since my father got meningitis. He very nearly died, you know? He got the last rights and everything. That was the Christmas of '98. I was only f****ng 19 at the time. I worked for Nicolas Clement for a summer in Chantilly-went there to learn French. And then I was with John Dunlop before my father got sick. I had only been there for three or four months and I had to come home and I've been here ever since. I had plans of going to Australia or America like every other young fella but this is the way it worked out.”

Ever since Fozzy was parachuted in to take over from Tommy, who is coming up on 80 years of age in November, the goal has remained the same; unearth a Group 1 animal. Few people have supported this outfit in that quest more in recent times quite like American-based owner Bernick has. 

The pair were introduced to each other through bloodstock agent Hubie de Burgh almost a decade back and the relationship has gone from strength to strength. Along with Aspen Grove, Bernick has been represented by classy types such as Castle Star (Ire), You Send Me (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Woody Creek (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}), with the latter's two-year-old by St Mark's Basilica (Fr) seemingly going the right way at home on the gallops. Perhaps it is fitting to leave the last word about a man who loathes speaking about himself to one of the people who knows him best. 

“In all walks of life, it is much easier to find people who are great talkers but who can't do anything, for it is to find those who know exactly what they are doing but don't make self promotion their priority,” Bernick replies when asked to sum up his trainer. 

“With Fozzy, he has a very good understanding of his horses and their capabilities and he's pretty good at an auction, too. Lots of trainers feel that they have to tell a story in order to keep a horse in their barn. But not Fozzy. He only wants a horse if it can accomplish the mission and he doesn't sugar coat things. 

“Fozzy and I are coming up on 10 years working together now and above all else, he's an extremely warm person. In fact, I think it would surprise people as to how sensitive he is to people and what situations they're going through. The Stack family didn't accomplish much by talking. They achieved what they have in racing by keeping their counsel and delivering the goods.”

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