'It might be the start of something' - Nickey and Niamh Murphy going the extra mile with new venture Killisk Farm
Young Wexford-based couple are standing the smart Tip Two Win this year
Like so many other young couples, Nickey and Niamh Murphy have spent a few years focusing on their careers and trying to establish a footing on the property ladder.
Now that their Killisk Farm in County Wexford is fully operational, it takes a major step forward in 2025 as a brand-new Irish stallion station with the arrival of Tip Two Win, the Classic runner-up who is on loan from March Hare Stud.
"We bought the place three years ago," explains Nickey Murphy.
"I rode point-to-pointers when I was younger and had been starting to get back into horses. We both work full time and we decided that we probably don’t have the time for mares, or the land either, but we'd love to stand a stallion.
"I went looking for a thoroughbred stallion to, mainly at the start, cover sport horses. I ended up getting in contact with James and Ian Hannon down in Old Road Stud, they had Sholokhov, Arctic Cosmos and other stallions like Ilaraab.
"I was chatting to them about what I was thinking of doing and they offered us Mores Wells."
Mores Wells, the French-trained stayer and son of Sadler’s Wells, visited virtually every corner of the globe as a racehorse. Just turned 21, the old hand helped the Murphys with a kind of soft launch of the farm near Enniscorthy last year and will stand again at a fee of €350.
Much more is expected from Tip Two Win (€500), whose proud and passionate owner-breeder Anne Cowley sadly died last summer.
Before running second to Saxon Warrior in the 2018 2,000 Guineas, in which he achieved a peak Racing Post Rating of 118, the son of Dark Angel had won the Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes at Doncaster, finished second in a Group 3 and been cleverly placed by Roger Teal to collect two valuable races in Qatar.
He has a few small crops to come from his stint with another young stud farm across the Irish Sea.
"We’ve really enjoyed having Mores Wells, he’s the boss of the whole yard, and then we got contacted by Luke [Gedge-Gibson] and Matt [Huntington]," says Murphy.
"They were wanting to offer Tip Two Win to the Irish market and I thought that was something I was definitely interested in doing. We're delighted to have the opportunity to work with the likes of March Hare Stud and their faith definitely gave us the confidence to push forward.
"He got held up coming over with the bad weather but he’ll be on his way soon. With Dark Angel having won the [British and Irish] sires' title, we’re hoping it might push people to us. Hopefully we’ll have a good season and it might be the start of something for us."
It should certainly make a talking point for either of them when they're back at work.
"We have normal jobs," he confirms with a laugh. "I’m the general manager of a Hyundai, Ford and Volvo dealership in Wexford and Niamh is cabin crew for Aer Lingus.
"So life is very busy. From five in the morning to ten at night, it’s all go but very enjoyable. Niamh had absolutely nothing to do with horses before we met, and I'm incredibly lucky with how she has taken to life with them."
Her husband's formal training began after he left school to work at Parknashogue Stud in Gorey. Owners Ger and Sadie Murphy were prominent all-round breeders who stood stallions, produced thoroughbreds and show hunters and won numerous classes at the Dublin Horse Show.
"Under Ger's guidance, I gained invaluable experience riding breakers, show horses, and point-to-pointers," he says.
"Ger, a point-to-point handler who rode out every day well into his late 70s, deeply influenced my love for stallions and undoubtedly fostered my ambition to become a stallion man."
After a spell riding out for other point-to-point handlers in 2012, Nickey Murphy decided to make a career change into the car industry as he sought some financial security. After a while, the itch returned.
"It was five or six years ago that I got into the horses again as a hobby, which progressed to buying the farm," he says.
"I had horses with a friend of mine, Jonathan Andrew at Castle Talbot Stud, and he has been a big help. When you’ve space, it all kicks on, you can’t get away from them. We’ve stables, a sand arena, and we’re putting in a walker shortly.
"We’ve got a few young thoroughbreds and half-breds that we break ourselves and we’re in the middle of National Hunt country down here. We sent a point-to-pointer who has just turned four over to Jamie Codd. Hopefully he might run early in February."
The industry in Ireland ought to be very proud that a young couple are prepared to work so hard outside the tent in order to become involved within it again.
That the 34-year-old speaks primarily about his passion for horses, and of taking things steadily, rather than immediately outlining big and bold plans, is undoubtedly another big green tick in the box.
"We hope this is the start of standing stallions going forward," he says. "It’s one of those things, you watch the videos and interviews from the Irish Stallion Trail. There are people saying their grandfather first stood a horse there in 1880 or something; they've 150 years on us!
"It's hard to compete with these guys as someone just starting off fresh, but we’re going to give it a go."
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