Member of the Month: Allan Stennett

Fresh from a Royal Ascot success, July’s Member of the Month is Allan Stennett, whose partnership-owned Daiquiri Bay landed the Copper Horse Stakes on the opening day. We caught up with Allan after his memorable week on racing’s biggest stage to hear about his journey in the sport.

How did it feel when Daiquiri Bay won the Copper Horse Stakes at Royal Ascot?
It was a feeling of huge delight as the game plan didn’t pan out with him being boxed in towards the back for most of the race, and we were thinking that he couldn’t win from there. However, he and Rossa Ryan overcame the traffic and won – unbelievable!

It looked a very close finish – how did you react when you realised Daiquiri Bay had won?
For the last 100 yards it was touch and go as to whether he would get his head in front at the line and we were all cheering him on. When he passed the post in front, we were overjoyed that he had won for us – he’s a superstar!

Why was this victory extra special?
Along with the joy of winning at Royal Ascot, the day was touched with great sadness as only a few weeks ago one of our partners in Daiquiri Bay, Geoff Kennington, passed away after a short illness. We know Geoff was looking down on us and cheering him on to win.

How did you first get involved in ownership?
In the 1970s and 80s I used to go racing to the Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot with friends, then in the late 80s when our business was sufficiently successful, I took the leap into ownership. Our  interests grew and eventually we ended up with a horse with David Nicholson, where Alan King was assistant trainer, as well as with Phillip Hobbs and David Pipe.

We were also introduced to Richard Kent at Mickley Stud who bought Ballynagour and Saute Flo for us – both went on to win at the Cheltenham Festival, where we’ve been lucky enough to enjoy success on seven occasions! 

More recently we became involved in Flat racing and it’s amazing that we have been blessed with a horse like Daiquiri Bay, who has now given us the experience of winning at the Royal meeting.

Which horse you have owned has meant the most to you and why?
We loved going to watch Ballynagour, trained by David Pipe, as he put his all into racing and we had a lot of lovely days at the races with him, in particular when he won at the Cheltenham Festival in 2014.

What do you most enjoy about being involved in ownership?
As well as sole ownership we also own horses in partnerships, as well as several shares in Richard Johnson’s syndicates. They are very well run and the communication with owners is excellent. We find increasingly that sharing the experience with others is very special.

What advice would you give to someone considering getting involved in ownership?
Give it a go – fully enjoy the good days as they can be few and far between! If your trainer can achieve a strike rate of around 20% winners to runners, you will be doing very well.

Quickfire round

One word to describe ownership? 
Exhilarating

Who is your desert island racing companion?
My wife!  

If you could own any racehorse past or present, who would it be?
Red Rum