By Kelsey Riley
Bob Edwards's e Five Racing got off to a fast start in the U.S., campaigning GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner New Money Honey (Medaglia d'Oro) in its first full year in operation in 2016, and the stable made a similarly impressive beginning in Ireland on Thursday, winning with its first-ever runner in that country, the Jessica Harrington-trained Landshark (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), at Leopardstown (video). The 2-year-old colt is the only horse in training in Ireland for e Five, which was named for the five members of the Edwards family-Edwards, his wife and their three children.
“I haven't had [a runner] in Saratoga,” said Edwards on Thursday. “I've been there all summer and I haven't had a runner yet, but it's nice to have a runner and a winner in Ireland.”
Edwards is in the pharmaceutical business and began to pursue his interest in racehorse ownership in 2015 after seling his company Boca Pharmacal and several branded drugs it had developed. Edwards said he was interested in racing horses in Ireland because he does “a lot of business there.”
“It's a pharmaceutical hub as well,” he said.
Mike Ryan, Edwards's agent in the U.S., put him in touch with Eamonn Reilly of BBA Ireland, who initially set out to find Edwards a horse to run at Royal Ascot. While that endeavour didn't work out, Landshark proved worth the wait after being bought by Reilly for a sale-topping €210,000 at the Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale in May. Edwards said, “Eamonn called me and said, 'I have something really special here Bob. It's not going to be an Ascot horse but he could potentially be a really good horse.'”
Landshark was also a success story for his Goresbridge consignor Egmont Stud, that stud's principal Mark Flannery having purchased him for just 5,000gns at Tattersalls October Book 2.
Edwards has been based at Saratoga for the summer with his 15-horse string, but wasn't able to make the trip to Ireland for Landshark's debut, instead traveling with his family to Arizona to move his youngest daughter into college.
“Potentially the horse will run again in the next few weeks and I'll certainly fly over,” Edwards said. “I'm dropping my daughter off at the University of Arizona right now. We would have flown out to the race had we been on the East coast; I was able to watch it but not be there.”
Edwards said aside from the good fortune of being one-for-one, his experience racing in Ireland has thus far been positive.
“It's really nice dealing with Eamonn, he's a true gentleman and he understands the business well,” he said. “BBA has been supportive and HRI has been phenomenal. HRI has a representative here in the States, they promote racing-it's really nice.”
Edwards said he still hopes to participate in the Royal meeting someday.
“I'd love to run something in England one day, but we'll see how it plays out,” he said. “If we're lucky enough to get something at Royal Ascot, it looks like a special place. NBC's coverage was phenomenal this year, it was really something to watch.”
Click here for a TDN feature on Edwards's American stable.
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