Stephen Thorne

Managing Director

Stephen graduated from the Godolphin Flying Start in 2014 and on completion of that programme, spent the following two years assisting top trainers Mike de Kock in South Africa and Ralph Beckett in the UK. Stephen rejoined Ado McGuinness Racing in 2017 as assistant trainer and his international knowledge and experience has been invaluable to the growth and success of the stable. Stephen won the Leadership Award at the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards in 2018 which highlighted his management and communication skills

Stephen setup Shamrock Thoroughbreds in 2017 and is now one of Irelands’ leading racehorse syndicators. “We take great pride in providing our clients with the best ownership experience possible. The success of Shamrock has been built upon sourcing high quality racehorses, a world class trainer Ado McGuinness and delivering top class communication to all our shareholders.

Our Trainer and why we choose him

Ado McGuinness – Trainer

Ado took out his training license in early 2000 after spending many years showjumping. Ado shows great skill in managing to keep his horses running consistently well and his ability to place his charges to great effect has been a feature of his training career.

Ado has managed to win some valuable Premier Handicaps on the flat in his career to date including the Irish Lincolnshire, Galway Mile, Ahonoora Handicap, Soverign Path Handicap, November Handicap, Rockingham and Joe McGrath.

Ado broke new ground in 2020 by winning his first ever Stakes race, the Listed Platinum Stakes at Cork with the highly progressive Current Option

All Shamrock horses are trained exclusively by Ado McGuinness, a top-class horseman who is one of Irelands’ leading racehorse trainers.

Testimonials

Stephen Thorne at Shamrock Thoroughbreds has an incredible eye for picking out high class horses at the sales. His methods of selecting quality racehorses at the right price is why he is one of the best judges in the game.
James Dooley, Dooley Thoroughbreds.
We have used Shamrock on several occasions to purchase horses on our behalf including Bowerman who went on to win the Irish Lincoln for us. We find Stephen to be very knowledgeable on all aspects of horse sourcing. One thing I particularly like is that he won’t buy for the sake of buying, but only will if the deal is right. We look forward to continuing our association with Shamrock
Dave Corr, Total Recall Racing Club.
Exciting times, must say very impressed with the feedback, but most of all the communication. Top class Stephen
Ricky Delaney, Syndicate Shareholder in Shamrock Thoroughbreds.

Great night. Dream start. It’s been 30 years since my last winner!

Ciaran Kennelly, Syndicate Shareholder in Shamrock Thoroughbreds after Master Speaker had won his first start for new connections.