‘I Don’t Think Agents Nowadays Have The Same Edge As We Had’

[Wandering Eyes]

Legendary BBA Ireland bloodstock agent Adrian Nicoll relives some of his greatest days in the business

They say that stories lived are better than stories told. And by God, Adrian Nicoll has lived through his share of good times.

The former BBA Ireland bloodstock agent has purchased his share of Group 1 winners, too. Think Dark Angel, Kooyonga, Alexander Goldrun, Serenade Rose and more.

He also played a part in the shuttling of the stallions to Australia which was the brainchild of his close friend John Magnier.

More recently, he is celebrated for purchasing Cabaret, the dam of Classic winners St Mark's Basilica and Magna Grecia, while he still retains a share in the Victorian Oaks winner Personal in Australia, the country in which he arguably enjoyed the most amount of success.

But what you may not know about the man who wears the title of 'The King', which was coined by his good friend and trainer David Hayes following a golden period of purchasing Group 1 winners during the 2005 Melbourne Carnival, is that he also trained a jumper in South Africa, rode in amateur races in Singapore and is the son of the Olympic bronze medal-winning show jumper. 

Now 76, Nicoll admits to having enjoyed “a colourful existence” but credits a life well lived in bloodstock to being born in the right era and having surrounded himself with some of the best minds in the business. 

“I never get tired of speaking about the good old days,” he says from the comfort of his beautiful Mount Juliet home in County Kilkenny, which he shares with his wife Yvonne, the daughter of trainer Phonsie O'Brien.

“It's good to remember the good days and sometimes you remember some days more than others. I think there was more fun involved in racing in the '70s and '80s as far more people went racing. Unfortunately, that has been curtailed by the advancement of television and the curtailing of drink driving. I remember going to the Irish Derby when there were forty thousand people there. My first Irish Derby was Nijinsky in 1970.”

And there was huge significance to that first trip to the Curragh. Not only did Nijinsky waltz to victory and, in doing so, become only the third colt to complete the Derby double at the time. But away from the bright lights and razzmatazz that came with such a momentous achievement, another important chapter was being written in the world of bloodstock, as it was here where Nicoll met BBA Ireland's founder Tom Cooper for a formal interview. 

Nicoll recalled, “I grew up with horses and I had some very good teachers along the way, including Tom Cooper, one of the finest judges of a thoroughbred. I just heard today that they are to name the Futurity Stakes at the Curragh in his memory. That is a nice compliment to the man who died far too young. It is a very nice thought of John Magnier to do so because Coolmore sponsors the race.”

Exploring Australia

Back in 1974, BBA Ireland had no representative in Australia so a decision was made that Nicoll and Jonathan Irwin – who left to join Goffs the following year – would go down and explore the market. As luck would have it, Robert Sangster happened to board the plane in London, with that chance first encounter proving pivotal to the success that followed.

“I didn't know Robert but Jonathan did, so he invited us up to the first-class lounge where we played cards and backgammon for most of the trip. Australia was a huge part of my life and meeting Robert on the plane down there provided a huge introduction to the country for me. It was through him that I did an awful lot of business in Australia. In those days, you could go and identify the relation to a good horse in the Southern Hemisphere up here before it was public knowledge. Now, it's overnight. We had a lot of fun and we met a lot of good people. It was just a different era. When I started back in 1970, there was no such thing as the mobile telephone. We didn't even have a fax machine.”

He added, “I can remember Robert winning the Golden Slipper with Marauding in 1987. Anyway, we went to this party afterwards and there was a fella who came up to us and said he'd love to buy some mares. We didn't know if this man was genuine or not but he came around the next day, had a look at the pedigrees, decided what he liked and he ended up buying something like 28 mares, including Princess Tracy, one the foundation mares in Australia.”

Shuttling stallions with John Magnier

The shuttling of stallions to Australia began around a decade previously. It was Nicoll's role to find the studs for the stallions on behalf of John Magnier. Horses like Green God, Deep River and Godswalk stood on Southern Hemisphere time with varying degrees of success before Danehill became one of the most influential dual-purpose stallions of all time. 

He recalls, “There is no greater genius in the industry than John Magnier. I used to go down and stay with him in Grange Stud before Coolmore even existed. We'd go hunting on a Sunday and we had a lot of craic together.”

“Now, Wootton Bassett has become one of the most expensive shuttle stallions following just one crop of runners in Australia. It looks like he is going to work very well in Australia.”

One story rolls into another when you are in Nicoll's company, many of which couldn't possibly be consigned to print, and it doesn't take long to realise why Sangster described the bloodstock agent as one of the most colourful characters within the industry. 

“Robert was great craic,” he remembers of his great ally. “He loved fun and loved a punt. He was a very kind person, too. Very generous. Probably, if he had a weakness, it was that he'd never say no. If you went to him with an idea, he'd say, 'ah yeah, we'll have a crack at that.' He was a great help to me. I didn't buy that many horses for him but I bought a lot of horses from him. Mainly broodmares to go to Australia.

“But when I say Robert loved a bet, there is one memory that sticks out. Yvonne and I used to live in Dunlavin in County Wicklow. Two years before Robert died, he came to stay with us for the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 2002, which he won with Rock Of Gibraltar. At the same time, Sir Alex Ferguson was still flavor of the month, so when he came back from the races, he told me that we had to back Brazil to win the World Cup. I asked 'why?' He explained that Ferguson had told him this and that and that Brazil were the ones to beat. 

“So that night, a whole group of us went to Rathsallagh for dinner. Lo and behold, there was an Australian bookmaker, Michael Sullivan, on the table next to us, who ironically became a client of mine much later on. Robert said to him, 'what price Brazil?' I'm not going to tell you how much he had on it, but the bookmaker replied, 'and in what currency would that be?' Robert replied, 'the lot'. So he had x amounts in euros, sterling, dollars, Australian dollars etc. I was a part of this bet, too, and I was thinking, 'what have I got myself into?' As you know, they won the World Cup and we got paid a fortune. Michael, who was Sportingbet Australia, ended up selling his business to William Hill, and then came into the yearling partnerships, which included Serenade Rose. It's just funny how these things happen and you've got to be lucky.”

He added, “I suppose I was quite a social animal, but we did meet some great people over the years, all of whom were very loyal. I had clients from the beginning and they'd never quibble and they'd all pay their commission. Basically, we as bloodstock agents had the advantage of every person not having one of those things [raises his smartphone] and getting all of the information instantaneously. I don't think you've got the same edge anymore and, if I was starting out again, I don't think it's a route I'd go down. I think it's much more difficult in this day and age.”

Deadly Duo

One of the most enduring relationships that Nicoll forged was with the legendary trainer Barry Hills, who passed away earlier this year having trained the majority of the brilliant horses that the bloodstock agent had bought in this part of the world.

Nicoll said, “I mentioned Tom Cooper was one of my great teachers but Barry was the other. From the first crop of horses I bought Barry, we had Gaelic League, and he was a Group 1 winner having cost only twenty grand. Barry was a fantastic judge and most of the horses we bought were bought on spec and he got them sold afterwards. Never in the thirty years we spent working together did he let me down. A great man, he will be sadly missed. 

“I actually saw him on the Tuesday of Royal Ascot. At that stage, he could hardly speak and he was in a hospital bed at home in his room. When I was leaving, he shook my hand, smiled and gave me the thumbs up. He died about ten days later and the memorial service at Lambourn was vast.” 

He added, “Not only was I buying the horses for Barry, but I had clients who sent him horses as well, such as Marston Stud, for whom I bought all the mares on behalf of. They sent Barry two fillies who they couldn't sell as yearlings. One was Maids Causeway and the other was Spinning Queen. Both fillies won Group 1s for Barry and Spinning Queen was sold for what was then a record three million gns at Tattersalls. 

“Dick Bonnycastle, who was Canadian, was the part-breeder of Spinning Queen and also owned a number of horses with Barry that we bought, including the Chester Vase winner and Derby fourth Mr Combustible, who was named after the trainer! But the best colt we bought together was Dark Angel. He only ran as a two-year-old but has become the most fabulous stallion. Then we had Classic winners like Hula Angel and Just The Judge but we never spent much money. It was very rare that we'd spend six figures but having someone as good as Barry to train the horses was just a massive help.”

Greatest memories

Nicoll's office at home is by no means small. Given there is no more wallspace in that office tells you everything you need to know about Nicoll's achievements in the game. 

“Buying yearlings that go on to win Group 1 races was the most exciting aspect of the job,” he says. “With the mares, you buy them and if they do well, you do well.”

He added, “But there were a few great days and they were nearly all with fillies. Serenade Rose being one of them. For about fifty years, she was the only filly who won the Oaks in Melbourne and the Oaks in Sydney. Kooyonga was another one. She won four Group 1s and is one of only three fillies – along with Enable and Pebbles – to have won the Eclipse. And then there was Alexander Goldrun. I bought her as a foal for forty grand and Noel O'Callaghan of Mountarmstrong Stud rang me the next day asking if I had bought any foals. I told him I had and that it was by a stallion that he'd probably never heard of in Gold Away, and he said, 'I'll have her.' She went on to win five Group 1s, including the Hong Kong International when trained by Jim Bolger.”

A gifted horseman with a keen eye for a good filly, Nicoll scaled heights others could scarcely imagine. He lorded it up with some of the best in the business and had a lot of fun doing it. Those memories made are what matter the most now more than anything.

“We were very lucky with our lives. It was great fun. There were some great times and with a little bit of help from some very important people, some of whom are not around anymore, we got things done.”

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