Ballybawn Belter provides a thrill that money can't buy for Love

From a carefree youth to life in the grown-up world of work, things have happened in unison for Ballybawn Belter and Timmy Love, who bought the Dublin Racing Festival winner when he was just a teenager.

Successful in the valuable Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle, it seems likely that Michael Martin and James Rath have been the greater beneficiaries as they paid not much more than the €3,000 that Love invested when he resold her as a store.

The daughter of Valirann moved into JP McManus ownership when making a winning bumper debut for Liz Doyle a year ago but Love, now 23 and on a contract in Paris with France-Galop, is treating it as more part of the journey.

"I’d have been 19 when I bought her as a foal in Goffs, I started off as a spotter there and just got into the pinhooking side of it," he says.

"I bought a few foals, the likes of her and another filly, Shecouldbeanything, who is doing quite well for Gordon Elliott.

"Look, I didn’t get rich selling either but it’s great they’ve gone on to be successful for other connections.

"[Ballybawn Belter] was a tall, athletic-looking filly who caught my eye and I followed her into the ring. She wasn’t over-dear and she actually has quite a nice back page. She was by an unknown stallion at the time and when she was three at the Land Rover, I thought she still had a bit of growing left in her, but with the fashion the way it is, she wasn’t the big filly that people were kicking down the door to get. She’s obviously more a racehorse than sales horse."

Simon Torrens and Ballybawn Belter clear the last to win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle at LeopardstownCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Love is the grandson of Dot Love, the Dane who became a popular member of the National Hunt community and caused an upset with Liberty Counsel in the 2013 Irish National. He has ridden three winners under rules and ten in point-to-points, mostly for his grandmother’s long-serving assistant Ciaran Murphy, and this project is very much a family affair.

"I think the quickest way to learn is when you put your own money on the line," he says. "I’ve definitely learned a lot by buying those first few, seeing what people are looking for, learning a bit about the prepping. 

"My dad is a tillage farmer in County Meath but he’d be big into racing and has been a massive help at home in feeding them in the morning and looking after them while I’m away. He got as much of a kick seeing the filly winning as I did."

Love was not deterred by the lack of a life-changing sales return and expects to have five more three-year-olds to consign under Coolderry Farm at the store sales.

He says: "It’s nice to have a graduate in such famous silks and I’d like to think that the horses we’ve sold performing on the track would bring a few more people to the door. It gives you a bit of credibility when it comes to the sales, it’s all about reputation and hopefully we’re starting to build a bit of that in the early days of the job."

Love was last seen in the saddle at Down Royal on Boxing Day, but his competitive riding career is on hold.

Liberty Counsel: was a fairytale winner of the Irish National in 2013 for Dot Love and Ben DaltonCredit: Caroline Norris

"I think the French wine and the baguettes are not going to help me when I stand on the scales when I go home," he quips.

However, the opportunities from his role, which involves liaising with international owners and promoting French racing overseas, are providing plenty of food for thought and he is friendly with young trainers such as Noel George and Hugo Merienne.

"It’s definitely interesting to be over here and seeing the difference," he says. "When I’m not working, I’ve really enjoyed riding out on a Saturday morning and seeing the way they’re bringing along their young horses. It's a bit different the way they do it, I suppose everything is brought forward a bit earlier and they get doing things a bit younger without being under too much pressure. 

"The French breeding operation is becoming a big part of our game at home, so it’s good to make a few contacts here as well."

Plotting a course in life is not easy but this University College Dublin graduate seems to be weighing it up with the right combination of practicality and optimism.

"I’d like to maybe go out and see a bit of the business world for a few years before going back to the horses," he says. "Ideally I’ll try to make a few quid and come back to the horses but I’d love to stay tipping away with them, buying and selling."

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