Focus On…Joe Tuite
RACING TO SUCCESS WITH SURREY RACING AND JOE TUITE
THE STORY
Joe Tuite was born in Ireland in Ardcath, Co Meath, into a dairy farming family. It’s a great horse racing area that includes Fairyhouse racecourse and is home to trainers like Jim Dreaper, son of Tom Dreaper, the trainer of Arkle. Joe’s interest in horses started with ponies and then point to points, before learning the trade with trainer Al O’Connell. He came to Britain at the age of 18 and worked with people like Charlie Egerton and John White, before riding as a conditional jockey with the likes of Jenny Pitman & Stan Mellor.
Joe’s training career really started in 2002, when he joined Mick Channon as his Assistant Trainer and stayed there for eight years. He describes Channon as “a gentleman” and they were fortunate enough to have worked with many good horses, including Youmzain, who was 2nd in three consecutive Prix De L’Arc de Triomphe from 2007-2009, including to the great Sea the Stars.
In 2010, he joined the training ranks when he moved into Felstead Stables, a purpose-built yard in Lambourn and now trains 35 horses. His most successful horse to date has been Litigant, who in 2015 won the Ebor Handicap (the richest handicap in UK racing) at York under Oisin Murphy and the November Handicap at Doncaster later that year. Not a bad training feat for a horse with “legs of glass” who only raced six times for Joe! Although the highlight of Joe’s career so far, he has had other notable successes. He trained Madam Dancealot, who gave him his first Group win in the Dick Poole Fillies Stake (Group 3) at Salisbury and found success at Gowran Park in Ireland winning another Group 3 race with Four White Socks.
Ask anyone about Joe and the first thing they say is that “he is a great horseman” and that “he has a great eye for a horse” This talent extends to every element of his job, no more so than in the pre-training, breaking-in and education of young horses. Joe believes in giving young horses plenty of time and stresses the importance of patience in allowing a horse to develop at its own pace. There is no doubt this benefits the horse and the horse racing owners in the long term.
At the sales, he is looking for a horse that moves with purpose and a nice nature. As he says, “I look for nice horses that walk well, have a nice head and a good eye” but at the end of the day “you need to be lucky”. Fortunately for Surrey Racing, Joe seems to be luckier than most!
SUCCESS WITH SURREY RACING
Finding the right trainer has been key to the success of Surrey Racing. This means a trainer who looks after the horses and the horse racing syndicate owners. Being a racehorse owner in a small syndicate of 10-12 owners, as is the case with Surrey Racing, is very much like being part of a family, sharing the special occasions, celebrating winners, and consoling each other when things don’t quite go to plan. It is important that the trainer is very much part of this and after an introductory meeting, it was clear that Surrey Racing and Joe would be an excellent fit and so it has proved.
His first horse with the syndicate was Surrey Hope, who won four races at Kempton, Sandown, Salisbury and Epsom. Surrey Blaze was next, winning five races as a 3 year old before Surrey Thunder, who had a distinguished international career. Joe will always race abroad in search of better prize money and a great race day experience. There is no better example of this than Surrey Thunder, who was placed in Group and Listed races in France and Germany, including Longchamp, St Cloud and Baden Baden, as well as running a very creditable 5th in the German Derby before finishing his international exploits with a Listed win at Clairefontaine. It was a season of racing that the owners will never forget in terms of the racing experience but also because they won over £100,000 in prize money and made a decent profit when the £65,000 Breeze Up purchase was sold for £290,000 to race with Chris Waller in Australia.
His current horse with the horse racing syndicate is called Surrey Pride and despite having already won 3 races, Joe is convinced the best is yet to come. The plan is to look at the decent handicaps early in the season before aiming at Listed/Group company at home and abroad. As Joe said when Surrey Thunder raced in France “we had a great night in Paris when he was second and won some decent prize money”.
What more can you ask for as a racehorse owner and you can be sure Joe will be there celebrating future success with the owners!
*With thanks to Gerry, one of Surrey Racing owners who wrote this article.