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Joe O'Neill caught the racing bug early listening to Three-Way Turf Talk on Saturday mornings in his grandmother's kitchen in Toowoomba while she baked biscuits and cakes. She loved racing and rarely missed a meeting at Clifford Park.
Joe was just 18 when he became associated with the first horse, Young Ruby she won three races around the Darling Downs which was a big thrill.
O'Neill joined forces with New South Wales trainer Bill Mitchell in 1997 and started to syndicate horses. At the time Bill's stable was the fourth biggest stable in Australia with the main stable at Randwick and a satellite stable at Eagle Farm. It wasn't long before the business expanded into Victoria.
Today, Prime Thoroughbreds races horses in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania.
Q: How are Rubisaki and Fituese doing and what are your plans for them over the next few weeks?
A: They are coming to hand nicely. After the Gr.2 Rose Of Kingston Stakes Rubisaki is likely to have two more runs during the Carnival. She will run in the Gr.2 Tristarc Stakes (1400m), followed by the A$7.5 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill. She is unbeaten in three runs in Sydney. Fituese is also going well and heading to the Listed Alinghi Stakes at Caulfield and then to Flemington. These two mares cost just A$140,000 combined and have won 14 races from 21 starts and A$1,471,615 already.
Q: What kind of a horse is Rubisaki? How did you come to buy her?
A: She is an attractive mare with a great temperament. She was the 3rd horse I bought out of the Senro Kisaki, a Sydney metropolitan winner by Danehill Dancer. I bought Rubisaki for A$85,000 at the Inglis Classic from the Edinburgh Park draft. I have bought four of her six foals including, the Adelaide Magic Millions Classic winner Zizzis (by Sizzling) for A$120,000. Recently, I purchased Zizzis' full-brother Price of Tokyo for A$100,00.
Q: How did you start Prime Thoroughbreds?
A: Bill Mitchell and I started Prime Thoroughbreds in 1997. After my retirement from the Army, I joined Bill with the aim being to increase his owner base. We worked together until 2005 when Bill retired. By this time Prime Thoroughbreds had become Bill's biggest client with its brand starting to receive a lot of recognition. Mitchell Bloodstock is still involved in many of our bloodstock purchases and Bill remains a very good friend. I am enjoying working with Bill's son James who is in partnership with Bill in Mitchell Bloodstock. He is a talent. Over the journey we have forged successful partnerships with some of Australia's best trainers including Kris Lees, Patrick Payne, John Thompson, Tony Gollan and Adam Trinder.
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Q: Who are your syndicate members and how many horses do you buy each year?
A: We have over 500 active owners. We even have our first member who started with us in 1997. Each year, we buy a select group of 15 horses. We are very careful about developing them, keeping in mind we try to maximize the returns from each horse. As an example, of the 21 yearlings, we purchased for Patrick Payne (2013 to 2019) to have raced, 16 are winners having won 52 races and returned A$4,463,003 to date (stakes money and proceeds from sales). The 21 collectively were purchased for just A$1,239,500 (A$59,023 average purchase price). Eight of the sixteen winners are still racing in our team. Results like these have helped us fully syndicate the yearlings we purchased this year. This is a remarkable achievement given the issues facing the world at present, although Australia is in a much better position than most other countries.
I bought four horses at the Magic Millions National Sale about six weeks ago and they're all sold which is a testament to the resilience of our market.
Q: What are the values you have maintained that has lead to your success as one of the biggest and most successful Syndication companies in Australasia?
A: We have always been very fair with our clients and we have got a very loyal owner base. Ninety percent of the horses that we syndicate are sold back to our owners or to their referrals. We are professional and are conscious not to get too big. I have seen many of our competitors make this mistake when they start to have some success. I enjoy being independent and prefer not to be tied to one trainer or stud. I believe this is a healthy approach and stops conflicts of interests.