Mark McStay - Avenue Bloodstock
TDN AusNZ: Where are you from and what is your earliest racing memory?
Mark McStay: I'm originally from the Curragh, Co Kildare in Ireland but I’ve been living in Newmarket in the United Kingdom for the past 18 years.
My earliest memory was of attending the Phoenix Park racecourse with my grandfather Michael McStay at a very young age.
TDN AusNZ: Which is your favourite racehorse of all time? Why?
MM: Sea The Stars (Ire). He was the ultimate racehorse in my opinion. On a personal note Covert Love (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}) who I bred and raced with friends. She won an Irish Oaks and Prix de L’Opera.
TDN AusNZ: Do you have a favourite day on a racecourse? Why?
MM: The Tuesday of Royal Ascot. It’s superb racing. It’s also very much an international gathering of our industry with horses and humans from all over the globe in attendance!
Mark McStay
TDN AusNZ: Could you tell us how you got into this industry, about your job now and what you love most about it?
MM: I grew up on a small family run farm. My first job in the industry was at Darley in the United Kingdom selling stallion nominations.
Winners are the lifeblood of our industry, whether they’re the best Group 1 winner on the biggest day or the smallest seller and a dark Tuesday night. They mean everything to the participants particularly the owners. So sourcing winners is what is most fulfilling!
TDN AusNZ: Who do you believe to be a value sire for the upcoming breeding season? Why? (Northern or Southern Hemisphere stallion).
MM: Snitzel’s fee in comparison to others in the market when you put his achievements into perspective make him great value. In Europe Night Of Thunder (Ire) at any fee, he might just be even better than his father.
Night Of Thunder (Ire) | Standing at Darley Europe
TDN AusNZ: Is there a stallion that you consider to be under the radar?, and why? (Northern or Southern Hemisphere stallion).
MM: Camelot (GB). I’m not sure if he’s under the radar. But he’s very good in both hemispheres. Fillies and colts.
TDN AusNZ: Which stallion, ever, do you think was the best type?
MM: Galileo (Ire) – without a doubt.
TDN AusNZ: Which first-season sire (other than your own) do you believe is most exciting? (Northern or Southern Hemisphere stallion).
MM: Shalaa (Ire). I’m a big fan. He could be the heir apparent to his own sire. However I must give favourable mention to Capitalist, I liked his yearlings.
TDN AusNZ: What was your favourite weanling, yearling or mare purchase this year?
MM: It’s probably a Sea The Stars colt in Europe. Currently in training with Hugo Palmer.
TDN AusNZ: Who do you think is a rising star within the industry? (Person not horse).
MM: James Ferguson is a young trainer who is going places. Also Cieren Fallon Jr. is a chip off the old block.
TDN AusNZ: What positive change would you like to see in the industry?
MM: Prizemoney levels to increase in Europe. Also more support structures (financial and social) to be put in place for key workers such as stud and stable staff. They keep the show on the road.
TDN AusNZ: If you weren’t in this industry what would you do?
MM: I’d be packing boxes of veterinary products for my wife Eva’s business. Or maybe I’d be a stockbroker, I did a summer working in a broking firm in London many years ago.
TDN AusNZ: How did you keep busy in isolation?
MM: We welcomed Charlie our first child into the world a week before lockdown! So he kept us busy! We did however watch the entire series of Downton Abbey in the evenings and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would!
