'We’ve always got to look at ways we can do things better'

Irish-born Tony Lacy will serve his first Keeneland September Yearling Sale as vice-president of sales and marks our card as the clock ticks down to the start of the world's biggest auction a week on Monday.

You’ve had a successful spell with your various operations and with Arqana. What tempted you to take this position with Keeneland?

The role isn't one anyone would consider lightly, it comes with a lot of pressure and responsibility, but I think when I looked at what was required, which was a good knowledge of the sales and buying processes, the understanding of being a breeder, a pinhooker, well, quite honestly, I’d sort of been in the trenches in all parts of that for the last 20 years at least.

Being Arqana's North America representative gave me a great insight into the operations of a sales company. Arqana is a very dynamic company with a great team and I learned a lot. I experienced what clients, especially from a foreign country, needed, what their sensitivities were, and I think that can be applied very directly to what we do here.

What does your role involve? Do you have any particular priorities moving forward?

It’s a very busy and broad-spectrum role. I’ve known and worked with Shannon [Arvin, president] on other projects over the years and have huge respect for her professionally and personally. Gatewood [Bell, vice-president] is a great guy, there are other executives as well in different sections of the business and we all collectively understand each other’s roles and responsibilities.

My role really is to understand and to modernise the sales processes, operate it obviously in the present and to also model it for what it needs to be as it evolves into the future. With Geoffrey Russell's retirement, we were fortunate to hire Cormac Breathnach [director of sales operations]. He's a fellow Irishman and a very smart guy; I’m very lucky to have him on the team.

Keeneland is building up to its keynote yearling eventCredit: Keeneland photo/Z

We’ve always got to look at ways we can do things better and how we interact with our clients. Keeneland is a global platform, we’re a brokerage for a major hub in the thoroughbred industry for commerce, so it’s important to be very aware of that, not just on a domestic level but a global level, and we’ve got to be aware of what the needs are of different markets and various buyers as we move forward.

Will there be any changes at the upcoming September Sale?

The format is two days for Book 1, two for Book 2 and so on. We initially announced we wanted to do three days for Book 1, but it became apparent after discussions with consignors that we were better to pivot and just focus on having a more selective Book 1 and moving a dark day to Friday, which logistically was very tough; it means we have almost 1,100 horses on the ground at the same time.

But it’s great for buyers, they can see as many horses as they wish before the dark day.

Our RNA re-offer programme came in as a reaction to feedback from vendors who were a little concerned about early placements. When you’ve got a strong group in a smaller section of the sale, being placed early on can create a little anxiety, so we came up with the solution that if you felt like your placement was a factor in your horse not getting sold, we will be prepared to re-offer those horses at the end of the second session. We’d obviously hope that a lot of those would get done in the ring or privately afterwards, but it creates a safeguard. I think I’d consider it a success if it wasn't needed.

You’re from a famous Irish racing family. What was your ambition growing up?

As the son and grandson of a trainer, it became obvious to me and everybody that I was going to be a trainer and that was my sort of predestined path. I worked for my dad [Tom], I worked in France as an assistant to Henri-Alex Pantall and Emmanuel Chevalier du Fau, then came to the States, worked on a farm at Wintergreen in '94. Really that was my first experience of breeding and Lexington, of Kentucky in general.

After that I had the opportunity to go to Florida and work for Jerry Bailey, who was a two-year-old consignor and an extremely good horseman, and I was fortunate to be offered the job of assistant trainer to Erwan Charpy in Dubai, where I stayed for over five years.

That was a great experience, it really broadened my horizons on how people approach the same subject, topic, issue, in different areas around the world. I was in the hopper to be offered a trainer’s licence but it became obvious after a while that other opportunities might be more fruitful, so I came to the States in 2001 and helped set up Four Star Sales with an old friend, Kerry Cauthen.

You rode against the likes of Ted Walsh, Aidan O’Brien and Willie Mullins as an amateur. What was that like?

I was going to be too big to become a professional but I became an amateur in the mid-80s and absolutely loved it. I rode for a number of years and I think it gives you great insight into horsemanship, understanding racing and the training side of things.

The legendary Ted Walsh was one of Tony Lacy's rivals in the saddleCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

You got to compete with some of the best people in the industry. There were different personalities: you had Ted, who was always the chatty one, always had an opinion and would talk himself out of trouble. It's like a fraternity. Aidan, every time I see him we’ve got that thing in common, Willie too. You see the personalities of when they were riding and it’s certainly transferred and grown as they’ve developed in their careers.

Who have been the biggest influences in your career?

It might sound a little bit overly used but my father was extremely influential in everything I did and a lot of his philosophies still ring true to me every day.

He started off a lot of good people. Pat Smullen won two apprentice titles with my dad, Freddy Tylicki rode his first winner for my dad, Padraig Beggy, Willie Supple.

He always looked at your potential and tried to focus on that. Constructive criticism, but supportive as well, and even though he’s my father, it’s still something that I’ll always be very grateful for.

It’s tough for apprentices and young people to find a way to break through, and it’s the people who encourage the next generation to excel. I remember the time Dad put Pat Smullen up in Listed races when he wasn’t allowed to claim as an apprentice. We got a lot of criticism over that but we knew his talent, and it proved to be true as he became who he did.

There are a lot of other people I could mention; certainly I don’t think for a second that I’m sitting in this position all because of me. This is a collective and I’m very humbled by it, to be very frank.

Who have been some of the best horses you’ve been associated with?

Hasili [dam of stars including Dansili and Banks Hill] was a filly I looked after in France and she's a foundation mare of Juddmonte. She was a special filly to be involved with, not that she was an exceptional race filly but one that I remember clearly because of her athleticism and her spark.

Those who reach those levels are few and far between and I’m always amazed at how you remember these horses. Even though you probably think they’re just another horse you worked with or looked at, they’re always burned in your mind for the right reasons.

Ingabelle was a homebred of ours and my first experience of Keeneland; she became a foundation mare for the modern Ballylinch. Uncle Mo and Munnings were horses we sold and Nasheej was one I bought for Malih Al Basti a few years ago; she won the Fred Darling and the May Hill and was third in the Guineas.

Pista was a smart performer for Tony Lacy's associate Scott HeiderCredit: Patrick McCann

More recently there was Pista, who won the Park Hill last year for Scott Heider and was just beaten in the Prix de Royallieu by Wonderful Tonight. She was a green filly, she ran around a bit and probably would have been a little closer if she'd run a straight course. Unfortunately she was retired because of an issue, but she was a special one. I'm always rooting for Scott and I’ve got a photo of her in my office here.

Is there anything you miss about Ireland?

Obviously family, that goes without saying. I’m the only one of my family who’s over this side of the world, although I have one sister who is a teacher south of Ayr in Scotland. It’s difficult to explain but outside of that, it’s home. Sometimes you’re reminiscing on certain aspects that are probably not as accurate because things have changed, but I love the camaraderie with friends, I love going racing.

When I watch racing from home at the weekend, even though some of the names have changed, some are the same and it’s great to see everybody for the most part still there, working away.

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