20 questions with Patrick Veitch

Why, when you have been so successful, did you make the decision to invest in a racing syndicate?
I didn’t want to get to a future situation where I retired and found there wasn’t much to do, so I have invested in a range of bloodstock projects which will give me plenty of interest to follow and a way of keeping a hand in without the day-to-day hard work of betting! Having owned horses outright in the past, I have come to learn how much more enjoyable wins are when shared with friends and like-minded individuals, so the community aspect generated by syndicates gives me great pleasure. Seeing hundreds of happy owners when Treasure Time won for RaceShare at the York Ebor meeting was a great thrill.

Do you ever back the RaceShare horses?
No, it’s a crucial standard that I never do. Affordability checks have meant that very big stakes are no longer available on British racing, so my betting will in future be on Hong Kong racing. But it’s crucial that people who own with RaceShare know that they are the owners and that there isn’t someone else competing with them.

How did you get into racing?
Originally by studying it for betting purposes, when still at school, and then over the years I came to enjoy ownership as well, and eventually breeding.

If you had a job title now, what would it be?
I suppose I would call myself a Professional Investor, which ranges from the Hong Kong betting to the various bloodstock investments like breeding and RaceShare.

How does your involvement in investing in and buying for RaceShare fit in with buying horses for Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom, and Ian McAleavy?
It dovetails perfectly because purchases for Tony and Ian are at the upper end of the market, typically well into six figures, whereas RaceShare horses are typically bought in the £50k-£100k range.

What is your involvement with RaceShare?
Apart from being the largest investor, my role is to buy the highest quality horses I can for RaceShare. The day-to-day running I leave to the team, although obviously I certainly let them know if I have a strong view about a RaceShare horse.

Where would you like to see RaceShare go in the next five years and your big aim in 10 years’ time?
I know the team is targeting an increase in numbers every year, so I suppose a reasonable target would be to have 30 horses within five years and perhaps 60-100 horses in 10 years’ time, with very likely breeding syndicates as well.

You seem to have the midas touch when it comes to buying horses, tell us about some of your successes?
In 2017, I bought yearlings for the first time in many years because I was certain that Lope De Vega was a massively underrated sire. I bought seven yearlings and between them they won eight Group and Listed races. More recently, I am delighted with the RaceShare purchases, especially Scampi and Treasure Time. We have ‘beaten the index’ by a long way in terms of the quality of the horses, wins at big meetings and the overall number of wins. The project with Tony Bloom & Ian McAleavy has also got off to a great start with Lake Forest winning the Gimcrack at York and the A$10million Golden Eagle in Australia and multiple Group wins for Sky Majesty.

What's been your proudest moment to date in the racing industry?
A horse of mine won a race at Beverley staged for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. The Queen was there and presented me with a gold and silver trophy made specially for the race.

What's your funniest/weirdest experience of being involved in ownership over the years?
I was once at Tattersalls sales and had been underbidder on a yearling. The vendor came out shortly afterwards and spoke to the trainer I had lined up for the horse - he reported that he had bought the horse back because he saw that it was being bought by Patrick Veitch, who was a gambler, something he evidently didn’t approve of from his disparaging tone of voice. He didn’t realise that the person standing with the trainer was me! The vendor subsequently apologised and we ended up having lunch a few years later!

Do you have any other hobbies outside racing?
I have recently become a big fan of padel tennis, which has rather taken over from golf, as I’ve a huge amount on so getting it over in 60 minutes works well!

You’ve often said how staying fit helps you work better? Tell us about your fitness regime.
I try to stay as active as possible, getting outside and getting the benefit of sunshine. Indoors, I do 30 minutes of cardio around 5 days a week and weight training most days.

What do you do to relax from a busy lifestyle?
As I said, I am very active but I have got a widely-varied friend group and enjoy catching up with all types of people. I like a good restaurant, but increasingly try to tempt friends to combine it with a walk, which allows for more food to be consumed.

What's your favourite racecourse and why?
It has to be York. I have had a lot of success there as an owner and, in my view, it’s the best run track in the country.

If you had a magic wand, what is the one thing you would change about horseracing?
Sorry, but I can’t give you fewer than two here! Firstly, cut the fixture list by 30% - people’s appetite for sport goes down if you give them too much of it. And secondly, I would change the lax stewarding system, and make it more in line with countries like Hong Kong and Australia, where dubious rides are simply not tolerated. I’ve long argued that there should be a penalty less serious than ‘non-trier’, where the latter can’t be proven but it’s clear the rider could have done more.

Just regarding the fixture list, did anything come from that in terms of change after you wrote an article in the Racing Post and discussed it on Racing TV with Nick Luck?
Not as yet, but there are clear signs that more and more racing people are waking up to the fact that an excessive fixture list is not a necessary evil in order to support racing’s finances. The view that we’re actually losing customers and turnover with our excessive programme is the (correct) view, and it’s gradually taking hold amongst the racing fraternity.

What result(s) in racing did you find hardest to take?
Earlier in my career, when strong draw biases were much more prevalent, there were two occasions when I went for two major touches in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot, only to see the riders give away certain victory by switching away from the obviously favoured zone. With a lot of experience behind me, these days, I am fairly immune to results-based frustration!

Which purchases are you most proud of?
At the top end, it has to be Lake Forest, who has won over £3million for Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy having been bought for 130,000 guineas, but Treasure Time winning at the York Ebor meeting and Scampi at the Shergar Cup meeting for RaceShare were equally pleasurable because so many other people were involved and got to enjoy the experience.

What’s your one piece of advice for anyone having a flutter on the races?
Make what you see your first criteria. There are some very sophisticated people and computer programs reading the form, but a well-trained eye can still beat them if you spot something the form-crunchers have missed.

What’s the worst bet you have ever placed?
Too many to mention! To succeed you’ve got to get used to regular failure - taking it on the chin and moving on.