Ted Durcan: ‘I Love Being A Bloodstock Agent, But It’s Not As Rosy As People Think’

[Wandering Eyes]

Ted Durcan has quickly established himself as one of the most respected bloodstock agents on the beat since retiring from race-riding with over 1,500 winners under his belt at the age of 45 in 2018. 

In a career that spanned 25 years, Durcan achieved Classic success aboard Light Shift in the Oaks in 2007 before partnering Mastery to St Leger glory in 2007. He also enjoyed hugely successful periods abroad and was crowned champion jockey in the UAE on seven occasions. 

In many ways, bloodstock has proved to be a natural progression for Durcan, who has already enjoyed notable success with high-class graduates like Bracken's Laugh and Cheltenham Festival scorer Wodhooh flying the flag for the 52-year-old. 

From his best days in the industry to avoiding pitfalls that are part and parcel with life as a bloodstock agent, Durcan proves to be a fascinating interviewee.

Brian: I spent a good bit of time looking back through the videos of some of your biggest wins in the saddle recently. I'd wager few meant as much to you as Light Shift winning the Oaks given that it propelled Sir Henry Cecil back into the limelight after a period in the doldrums. Did you even get a chance to appreciate a success of that magnitude at the time?

Ted: I did because I saw the lull that he was going through in the years building up to the Oaks. His health wasn't great either and there were a few other issues going on at the time. His numbers had really dwindled – like properly plummeted – and he only had a handful of winners that season. Henry was such a popular person and, when he was struggling, Juddmonte and the Niarchos family stayed behind him 100 per cent. That's what rescued him. So when Light Shift came along, it was obviously massive for me, but it was all about Henry on the day. To be owned by one of the two powerhouses who backed him when he really needed it most, that made it extra special. The magnitude of what had happened was probably lost on me at the time but I definitely see it now. It was an unbelievable afternoon. 

That chapter of your life has closed and you are now known as Ted Durcan the bloodstock agent rather than Ted Durcan the ex-jockey. 

Yes, 100 per cent. And it's been going well but everyone knows how hard this game is and you are reliant on a little bit of luck along the way. Another massive part of my job, that few people talk about, is that you need the horse to end up with the right trainer. That's a massive thing. Good trainers can make you look very clever and I am fortunate to work for a lot of talented operators. It's hard work but I love it. Every jockey has their shelf life and I knew mine was up so I was happy to stop at 45 even though it wasn't an easy decision to make. The last thing I wanted to do was to overstay my welcome. I had seen it down through the years, riders staying on a little longer than they ought to have, and I was determined not to let that happen to me. I also understand why they did it because in many ways, being a jockey is all you know, and the uncertainty of what's ahead can be daunting. I was never the most natural rider. I knew I had my limitations. So when it started to slow down, I didn't want to overstay my welcome, which is why I branched out into bloodstock. 

I think you're being a bit harsh on yourself. 

No, I'm not. I genuinely mean that. I think I was very lucky. There were a lot of riders who were far more natural than I was but they didn't enjoy the same luck as I did. I think being in the right place at the right moment probably helped me. I mean, I rode for some amazing people during my time as a jockey. That wasn't a masterplan on my behalf. It's just how my career evolved. I learned my craft in a very hard school but an unbelievable school in Jim Bolger's. One thing that remains with me about my time spent with Jim is that he gave everyone a chance. No matter how ordinary you were, he gave you a chance. Now, you'd have to earn it. But he was fair. If you worked, he gave you a shot at it. I will always remember that and I will always be grateful for it. There were lads there in Jim's when I was there – [Paul] Carberry, [Tony] McCoy, Seamie [Heffernan], Willie [Supple], Christy [Roche] – and they were in a different league to me. But Jim gave everyone an opportunity. 

When you are talking about luck, you could say you are lucky to have found something that you have slipped into so seamlessly since you retired from the saddle. A lot of people struggle to replace that buzz.

It's the regime that you miss. Your life is mapped out for you – get up at 5am, ride out, get on the road to the races, etc, etc. When you stop, what do you do? You can only mow the lawn once a week. So you have to replace it with something. I had a very brief flirtation with the idea of going training when I smashed one of my ankles a couple of years before I actually retired. I had a bit of time off to think so I mulled it over and actually sat all of the training modules just to have them. That's one of the reasons I went to Sir Michael Stoute, because I was half thinking of training. I wanted to see how an operation like his worked from the inside out and he was unbelievable to me. He was extremely open and I could basically see as much as I wanted to. But I realised after about a year that training was not for me.

Why?

Because there are so many elements to training that wouldn't suit me. Media, for example, is something I find very hard. High maintenance are the wrong words to use, but I think owners demand an awful lot more from trainers now, so to be successful as a trainer you need to be fairly hands-on in dealing with owners. The man-management of staff, the amount of rules and regulations a trainer has to comply with now and so many other things made me realise it has become harder and harder for trainers to make a go of it and I don't envy anyone in that profession. I think owners are more involved than they ever were and they have higher expectations as well. An email once a month is not going to suffice. They want to be in the loop, and when they are putting up the money, they have every right to. Half the fun in owning the horses is the journey. The race day is great but the lead-up to that race and the journey is what owners want to be a part of. I know I would have struggled with that side of things. There are a few areas that I knew I would have struggled with so I said, 'hang on, I'm not heading down that avenue,' and I'm glad I didn't.

Durcan [left]: riding work for Sir Michael Stoute with Ryan Moore | Emma Berry

But then you've gone into bloodstock which, to my understanding, is another job where you need to put yourself out there in order to get clients. 

That is one area I lack in. It does not come naturally to me to pick up the phone and sell a horse. I'll hold my hands up there. I would admire the people who are able to get out there and get things done. Some might call it neck but I don't even mean it like. I'm probably not forceful enough. I know some agents find it easier than others but I don't go around giving it the hard sell.

From speaking to a few people about what you bring to the table as a bloodstock agent, a lot of people describe you as being an excellent judge, bordering on fussy. I'd view that as a positive if I was an owner as I'd feel my money would be going further if I gave you an order.

Fussy? Really? I don't know about that but I walk out from a lot of sales empty-handed. I'd much rather that than buy something half-heartedly. That's a horrible feeling. If you walk out of the sale with something you weren't completely sold on, nobody likes that. Buying a horse for the sake of filling an order is not for me. I'd actually hate to do it. 

So there must be a lot of loss-making trips as a bloodstock agent?

It's not as rosy as people think. There are plenty of people who take the piss and think nothing of it but that's part and parcel of the job. You just have to learn from it and know who they are and not do business with them in the future. I think every agent will find that a lot of people come to you with what you perceive to be good intentions but they are actually just tyre-kickers and they are really just trying to get some information out of you. They don't think twice about wasting your time. 

It's probably a job where you could become a very busy fool quite easily?

And that can be infuriating. People have the neck to think it's okay to waste your time. Don't get me wrong, there are some brilliant people in this game, but having your time wasted is part and parcel of this business unfortunately.

What horse has provided you with your biggest kick as a bloodstock agent?

Take Wodhooh for example, I bought her for 50,000gns out of Sir Michael Stoute's at the July Sale in 2023 and she went to Gordon Elliott. She won at the Cheltenham Festival this year and pushed Lossiemouth close in a Grade 1 at Aintree. I have got some kick out of her more so than any other horse purely because she just kept on exceeding expectations and is owned by the best people in the world. They gave me an order to go and find a horse to win a race or two. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we'd end up at the major spring festivals but Gordon did a brilliant job and she kept on rising to the challenge. That was a wonderful journey and hopefully she will provide us all with a lot of fun next year as well. I absolutely love this job and I love keeping busy. I'm a fair weather rider as well – I still ride out and I do a bit with William Haggas now. It keeps you fit and it's great to be associated with such a slick operation. So I enjoy that as well. I have always had an invested interest in riding work and working out what a horse wanted. I love it. But the aim is to buy horses that fulfill what the owners want and to grow the bloodstock business. Whether that aim is winning a little handicap somewhere or a horse like Wodhooh winning at the Cheltenham Festival, you want to meet owners' and trainers' expectations. Letsbefrank was another good example of a horse doing a job for connections. He cost 35,000gns but went and won a hundred-grand Sunday Series bonus for Jim Goldie and his owners. That was another brilliant result for people who are involved in racing for all of the right reasons and I got a huge kick out of that horse as well. Yes, of course you want to up the ante and buy a better calibre of horse all of the time, but it's very hard to get up and rolling. The aim is to continue the business model, keep delivering and then hopefully be in a position to buy nicer horses year after year.

And what is it that you look for in a horse?

It's all of the obvious things but one thing that I have learned is that attitude is a massive thing. If a horse finds the whole sales process hard, what is going to happen that horse on the day of a race or even in the build-up to a race when the work starts to get hard and the screws are being tightened? If they are not able for the sales process, they won't come through and deliver on the track. Attitude is a massive part of it for me. A horse with a good attitude will get over niggles and little flaws that they might have but, if they haven't got the right attitude, they will roll over easily enough. A horse with the right attitude is a huge help.

You've worked with some legendary trainers. What sets them apart? Is there a common theme?

Attention to detail, for sure. And the ability to place horses is another key to their respective successes. William, for example, would rarely place his horses in the wrong spot. He knows what he has. 

And what about Sir Michael Stoute? 

He was a marvellous man to be around. Such a horseman. Brilliant with the horses and brilliant with staff. Patience. Nobody would rush Sir Michael into anything if he didn't want to do it himself. Crystal Ocean, Poet's Word and even winning the Derby with Desert Crown just a couple of years before he retired. They were brilliant training feats and he is just an amazing man. In the modern world that we live in, where people want instant results – or even instant action – it makes it hard for another Sir Michael Stoute to come through the ranks. Take Ulysses for example, to get him to achieve what he did as a four-year-old – that was an amazing achievement and I don't think many other trainers would have been able to do the same. He was a very handsome horse but he would be coming off the Heath in Newmarket hollering and roaring. There was never any malice to him but Sir Michael took his time with him and then he started winning Coral-Eclipses and Juddmonte Internationals as a four-year-old. Different class. Poet's Word was another. He won a handicap off 88 before he went on to win Group 1s as a five-year-old. Expert Eye was another. I rode Expert Eye in his second-last piece of work before he won the Breeders' Cup Turf Mile. He went through the motions and nobody bar Michael would have thought he could go and win at the Breeders' Cup. The rest is history. Sir Michael has an unbelievable ability of getting the best out of horses. 

For all of the success you have enjoyed in buying winners on the track, I'd venture that sourcing La Rosetta for just 40,000gns on behalf of Frances Crowley would rank pretty highly given the Blue Point colt out of the mare sold for €250,000 at Goffs in 2023. 

That was special because my wife [Sue] and I have been long-time friends with Pat [Smullen] and Frances. We used to do the Middle Eastern tour back in the day and we had a lot of fun together. That was a special moment given our association together and we've had a few other mares together. La Rosetta has been a lovely mare. Frances has a Lope De Vega out of the mare this year and I gather she's visited Starman recently so that will be exciting.

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