Year after year, his equestrian theme has won another major award in his various hobby website. And this spring Gabriel Duignan is back on the GI Kentucky Derby trail—this time as a breeder, his Springhouse Ranch near Lexington started the Forbidden Kingdom (American pharoah) along the way did two of the major trials in California, followed by the GII San Felipe S. in Santa Anita last weekend.
Before you ask: disappointingly, there’s no real story behind the moniker. When he started out as a kid at Airlie Stud, his predecessor was for some reason called “Spider”, and the curator just couldn’t keep his real name in mind. On the third day, he gave up and announced that Duignan could also be Spider. “Even though I’m a skinny, long-legged young man, it fits a little bit,” notes Duignan.
But if that particular line of investigation turns out to be a wild goose chase, we can at least now officially hail Duignan and his wife Aisling as the ultimate such quarry.
Last week, they were thrilled to be back home to be welcomed together by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association with the “Wild Goose” Award, given to fellow countrymen flying tricolor in style. exemplary manner in foreign arenas.
They were also intrigued by some of the themes of the honor video. Friends and colleagues consulted several times, with an air of confusion, about Duignan’s origins in the Leitrim Company countryside. (“Okay, so there’s not a huge equine culture,” he admits. “But surprisingly, there are always a few horses around.”) Paramount’s Lesley Campion noted that the pair added how well complement each other: “Aisling is smart, hard-working, astute; just a lovely, kind, kind, welcoming person. And, um, Spider is a good dancer. And high. And it’s from Leitrim. ”
But the real foundation was the contribution of John Magnier, who hired Aisling as Bloodstock Director at Ashford Stud.
“Spider, I’ve known you’ve been smart since you worked for Tony Ryan and did a great job for him,” Coolmore boss said. “But when you marry Aisling, it confirms how smart you are.”
Magnier recalls Aisling taking the mares out “as a kid” all winters: “Dressed in rain clothes, you can hardly find her. But she’s always stood out, really, and it’s no surprise to me that she’s reached the heights she has.”
“Those are the lovely words he said,” her husband said. “To be fair, I think they’ve always had a great relationship. Look, that’s a great award to receive, ITBA did a great job all night, and the whole thing is really gratifying. It’s great to be recognized by colleagues.”
Over the years, of course, Kentucky has become something close to 33 .rd Irish County. But when Duignan first arrived in 1985, introduced to Bill O’Neill at Circle O Ranch, he was second only to a wave of pioneering migration led by the likes of the late award-winning Gerry Dilger Wild Geese 2018. It is so, fittingly, that the bursary funds obtained in Dilger’s memory should be earmarked for new cycles in that ongoing transatlantic experience and passionate exchange, with two young women from Ireland going to Springhouse for work late.
“Due to the lockdown, unfortunately we weren’t able to bring them in as planned last year but we are looking forward to the two girls coming in the spring and that will begin,” Duignan said. “An American student is also being sent to the National Academy of Ireland. It’s a great thing to give young people the same experience we’ve had. Gerry is such an amazing guy, like a godfather to all of us here, and I like to think his foundation will last for a long time into the future. ”
Opportunities like these, and of course the Godolphin Flying Start, weren’t there when this wild wind monkey first took off, and the Bluegrass expatriate community is truly indebted to a lot by the spur of the moment. unofficially by John Hughes, in Duignan’s own case, and Michael Osborne, among many others.
“I will be forever indebted to John Hughes,” Duignan insisted. “He was the head vet at Airlie while I was there, and it was in his personal interest to send me here and arrange for me a job at Circle O. He was a wonderful man. . It was he and Dr Osborne who took care of so many young Irishmen at the time, and sent us on our way.
“None of us had a lot of dollars in our pocket when we got here. But I guess Ireland was in pretty bad shape at the time. We arrive with very little expectation, but we are willing to work and grateful for any opportunity we get. And then there’s also a bit of that entrepreneurial spirit. Once we made a few dollars, we were ready to take the risk and invest in a horse. It’s a great community: a great group, very close, almost like a real family. Everyone pulled together.”
For all the jokes about growing up in the relatively remote waters of Turf, Duignan comes from a family of farmers and, like so many of his countrymen, has an instinct, instinct.
“I was just one of those kids who were born with a love for horses,” he said. “So did my brother Cahill, and we were sent to a local guy who broke horses. I started with ponies and gym dogs, but realized pretty early on that I wasn’t good enough to make a living out of it. So I switched to Thoroughbreds at Airlie Stud. I really think of an inventoryr as an inventoryr, absolutely: if you keep an eye on a horse, you’ll have an eye for cattle, for any animal really. And love for the land is also closely related. You can learn, you can help yourself, but I see American kids growing up on a farm, and it’s the same: it gives you a slight edge. “
That raw material couldn’t be better shaped than O’Neill, who ran the Bwanazon ranch for Millard Waldheim before taking over Circle O.
“He was a great mentor to me,” recalls Duignan. “He’s a proper Kentucky hardliner. It was hard work, nothing messy, but I learned a lot from him. And really, I’ve just been lucky in life, to work with so many good people. Like David Garvin, who gave me the opportunity to start buying horses for him at Ironwood, a beautiful ranch that I manage for him at Bowling Green. And then Dr. Ryan brought me in [as president of Castleton-Lyons]. Another great man: he pushed you, he had great foresight. I have learned a lot through him. ”
And that factor will be crucial to Duignan’s growth with such a diverse portfolio: ranchers, ranchers, snooker players and, in 2001, Paramount’s founding partner with Pat Costello. They have been core investors, along with Ted Campion, in a long-term partnership they call The Lads.
“I have always been fortunate to have great associates,” says Duignan. “Gerry. Ted and Pat. Charlie O’Connor. Back then, I guess a good part of it was trial and error. But we all learned a lot from each other. And our timing is good. In the past, the market was a bit more closed, but as things become more commercial, you have more opportunities to expose yourself and sell. “
His relationship with Costello now dates back 30 years. He suspects that they first met in a pub.
“Believe it or not!” he said with a chuckle. “Yes, we met soon after coming here and started meeting and have been friends ever since. Obviously we think a lot of the same things, regarding a horse. You need to have give and take, if you’re going to do a partnership, but honestly, we’ve never had any differences. “
However, the final partnership was of course with Aisling herself. Duignan willingly submits to all of their friends’ complicated reasoning in the ITBA video.
“She was helped a lot,” he said. “It’s lovely to have someone you can get through anything smarter than yourself. She has incredible energy, has to juggle a lot of balls in the air, and I don’t know how she does it: she is a very keen businesswoman, but also a wonderful mother. and a great person”.
However, everyone acknowledged Duignan as an excellent horseman. Wearing his various hats, he has made too many good horses for there to be any doubt about it. During his time at Castleton-Lyons, Duignan assisted in the rise of the Moon Malibu, while the foals No, never and Gormley was one of the graduates of the Paramount shipment. However, if forced to identify an aspect of his portfolio that makes him most proud, it could be the mares that have found their way to different farms under supervision. his.
For example, when Point Given (Thunder Gulch) was weaning, Duignan brought his dam to Ironwood for $160,000; Five years later, she was sold for $2 million in the same ring. He purchased the Gio Ponti (Tale Of The Cat) Dam for Castleton-Lyons. Then there’s the double I winner, Brody’s Cause, bred with William Arvin Jr. and Petaluma Bloodstock after his $130,000 acquisition of the dam.
Just last year, two minors who passed by Duignan scored at elite level: GI Starlet winner S. Eda (Munnings) was sold by Paramount as an avid September Keeneland for $240,000, while GI Breeders’ Future winner S. Rattle N Roll (Connection), called a $55,000 weaning through Rexy Bloodstock, was sold in the same lot for $210,000. And now, out of this same case, Forbidden Kingdom is advertising the alert recruitment for his Just Louise (Stars’ Day) dam for just $150,000, despite her successful GIII Debutante S. not so bright in his career.
“That’s all that happens at the end of the day,” Duignan said. “The humming of good horses. I think the biggest thing, looking back, is the day I started investing in the game rather than just working in it. In life, you always need luck and thank God I have shared that too. But there are always risks involved, so you need to have the mentality to accept the ups and downs. If things don’t go your way, you have to be able to handle it and move on; you don’t look back, just look forward. ”
Similarly, when raising a horse, he feels you have to let things flow; exposing horses to challenges that help them grow into race warriors — he suggests a lot, part of a culture shared by his fellow “wild geese.”
“I think we try to make them horses,” he said. “They are kept outdoors as much as possible, kept in herds as much as possible. I think it’s very important that you don’t breed horses, because I think it’s been proven over the years that you just have to make a softer instance that way. I think maybe all the Irish guys are a bit like that.”
Duignan dismissed the pessimism many expressed towards American industry. He noted that wallets in some states are strong, while even the pandemic provides reason to rejoice in increased handles and a remarkably strong market lifeline.
“Without a doubt, the business has shrunk in the last 20 years,” he admits. “But it is very resilient. At the end of the day, it’s the bond between man and horse. It’s a great game, and I often say that I’ve probably never worked a day in my life. If you love what you do, there’s no better way to get through life. So as long as you can do a few bucks along the way, it’s a lovely way to make a living. “
