My Passion With Patrick Toes

When not at work managing client portfolios, my mind is usually focused on all things equine.

It all started with my father Bob who used to go to the races in York in his youth. Our family subsequently moved to Hong Kong in 1974 because of my father’s job, and a huge part of Hong Kong life revolves around Sha Tin and Happy Valley racecourses. At one point we even lived less than 10 minutes from Happy Valley.

So I was brought up in an environment where horseracing was never far away.

Aged 11, I returned to York to boarding school but visited Hong Kong most holidays. After my A-levels I went back to Hong Kong for a gap year and then returned again after my degree to pursue a career in investment management.

In 2004 I bought my first horse, a filly called Star of Siam. It is a steep learning curve understanding what to look for in a horse and when I look back to those early days, I recognise how little I knew.

Much like most things in life you learn by your mistakes and if you’re serious as I am about horseracing, it takes a lot of time, research and patience to decide which horse to buy! This is where my interest in horse-breeding started.

It is important not to kid yourself and know your limitations. I have developed a good relationship with my trainer, David Barron, a shrewd Yorkshireman whose stables are based in Maunby, near Thirsk, and together we make a good team.

I look to bring what I have learnt from many hundreds of hours of research into horse pedigrees and my several trips to the Keeneland sales in Kentucky where up to 5,000 yearlings, colts and fillies are sold over a fortnight in September. During these visits to Keeneland I often walked a hundred miles or more between stables in the hope of finding an attractive yearling!

Currently I don’t own a horse but I have kept my hand in looking after my father’s high class filly, Jaconet, during her racing career and more latterly as a broodmare. She is currently in foal and due in April.

I love going to the races and my favourite courses have to be York and Sha Tin. I became a member of York Racecourse in 2003, but I also enjoy going to Newcastle and Ripon usually with friends and sometimes with family. Looking back, horseracing is such a big part of my life because of my dad and his interest but it evolved into something more.

The research you have to do to get your next purchase right is a challenge I enjoy and it’s something I have to do every day as an investment director. You have to analyse the pedigree and history of the horse and decide on what would be a fair price... just like making the right investment decisions and avoiding the horses with three legs!