Goals once paid the rent for Kevin Doyle but now it’s a pastime closer to home that keeps the former Republic of Ireland international entertained, writes Will Jennings.
Doyle, a well-travelled Premier League campaigner for Wolverhampton Wanderers with 63 caps for his country, traded Molineux for mares towards the end of his career, exploring his passion for breeding by buying his first horse Cousin Jen shortly before his move to the Black Country.
Kevin Doyle – switch of focus
And the convivial Irishman never looked back since, immersing himself in the industry and now owning five mares he assiduously raises at his family farm Slanley River Stud in County Wexford.
Doyle recently hit the racing headlines for investing €155,000 on Altior’s half-brother by Camelot, augmenting his collection that he and his father breed and continuing one of the most idiosyncratic tales in the horse racing world.
And Doyle, who hung up his boots after a two-year stint at Colorado Rapids in 2017, says he couldn’t be happier with the way things have unfolded for him and his new companions.
“The whole thing about breeding fascinates me,” the 36-year-old said.
“I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m constantly trying to learn, and it’s definitely helped me since I finished football to get over that.
“It’s really special that I’ve been able to explore my two passions – my football career has obviously helped pay for me to be able to breed and I’m busier now than I ever was playing football.
“It’s not like I’m missing football loads and sitting at home – you read stories of players when they retire when they have nothing to do, but horses fascinate me and I get a great kick out of this.
“I’m not really into the gambling or training side of it and I don’t go to too many races – it’s just all facets of the breeding side for me, and it’s definitely made retirement a lot easier.
“I just really enjoy seeing my horses grow and evolve – trying to get one, breed one, see them foal and then sell them to go on and win a race and do well, and then follow them on through their career.”
Breeding runs in the family for Doyle, whose father Paddy has nurtured mares and foals on the farm for 25 years including the decorated runner Holywell, who powered to two consecutive Cheltenham Festival victories in 2013 and 2014.
And the former Reading and Wolves striker followed in his footsteps with alacrity, swiftly turning his attention to his other sporting passion after retirement and last November purchasing Grade One-winning hurdler Augusta Kate for €85,000.
Doyle’s most recent breeding venture saw him buy the foal half-brother of the Nicky Henderson-trained Altior, halting his trend of solely purchasing mares but an investment he remains conspicuously excited about.
“I don’t normally buy foals and I like to produce my own ones,” he added.
“But everything was right about him physically – he’s a great size and got a good walk and there was nothing you could not like about him.
“He was very expensive for a foal, but if there’s ever going to be a foal you pay a lot of money for I thought this was the one.
“He’s top-class – he’s great back here now with the other foals and he’s got a really good temperament and it’s great to have him around the place.”
Doyle still remains a busy man outside of breeding, last year helping coach the Republic of Ireland Under-17s squad and also working as a pundit for RTE Sport.
But it is his mares from which he derives the most personal satisfaction, content with his current haul of five which he intends to produce foals from in the spring and then sell on in future years.
And while the temptation may be there for his horses to become more than just a hobby, Doyle insists his focus firmly remains on the breeding and selling elements of the industry and maintaining the quality of his impressive crop.
“My plan is to keep it relatively small and try to have quality rather than quantity, as that’s the key to making it commercially viable and making it pay for itself,” he said.
“I want to have it so not every minute of my day is spent trying to keep everything going on the farm, and it’s just more about it being a hobby.
“It can easily get out of hand with mares and foals and they can multiply quickly, and I may even cut back now on one or two and try and keep the quality up and the quantity down.
“But I don’t plan to leave the breeding industry any time soon – I’m busier now than I ever was, it’s all stuff that I want to do and so hopefully that will continue.”
I’m busier now than I ever was playing football.
