TOM MALONE

Bloodstock Agent

Tom’s working career began as a conditional jockey for the likes of Philip Hobbs and 15 times champion trainer Martin Pipe. Working with top class National Hunt thoroughbreds on a daily basis provided Tom with the foundations for an eye in thoroughbred selection.

Tom race rode for 11 years, amassing a total of 70 winners, including five at Cheltenham. He also completed the Grand National twice, before hanging up his boots and going in search of a new venture. The time in which Tom spent working for trainers (including 15 time Champion trainer, Martin Pipe) and race riding taught Tom an awful lot about judging quality in a thoroughbred, and this proved to stand him in good stead for a career as a bloodstock agent as he was soon purchasing winners at the very top level.

In the first year of trading as a bloodstock agent, Tom’s purchases accumulated 37 winners and now, in the nine years since the inception of Tom Malone Bloodstock, there have been over 3,00 winners including 180 Black Type winners, 15 Cheltenham Festival Successes, a Grand National and a Group 1 Royal Ascot winner.

Milton Des Bieffes was the first horse that Tom ever purchased, who was sourced from the Irish point to point field for owner Nick Shutts. This horse went into training with David Evans and went on to win seven races, three of which he won on the bounce with Tom himself in the saddle. After this Tom started taking purchase orders from clients and has never looked back.

Tom enjoys watching horses’ careers develop, he relishes in buying young horses from the point-to-point field and seeing them mature.  This is where Tom came across some of his most successful National Hunt purchases to date, Brindisi Breeze, winner of the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival and Native River, winner of the 2018, Grade 1, Cheltenham Gold Cup and One for Arthur who won his Irish maiden at the 5th time of asking before going on to win the Grand National four years later.  The Grade 1 winners from the pointing field continue to flow highlighted by the success of Finian’s Oscar, The Worlds End, Envoi Allen, Slate House & Bravemansgame.

On the flat Tom has enjoyed Group success with the likes of Caspar Netscher (German Guineas winner), My Dream Boat (Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot) and Levitate (Lincoln winner) on a relatively small budget. He also enjoys the challenge of buying three year old flat horses and watching them switch codes to a career over hurdles, such as Dodging Bullets, the Dubawi gelding bought out of a Sligo handicap who went on to become Champion Chaser in 2015, Irving who was purchased privately from Germany and went onto win the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle twice and Mohaayed who was bought for £32,000, sold on this website to current connections and 2 years later won the County Hurdle at The Cheltenham Festival.  Adagio was claimed off the flat in France for only €25,500, 5 months later he was a Grade 1 winner over hurdles.

More recently, French bred horses win more than their fair share of Cheltenham Festival races and we have been successful sourcing top-flight jumpers such as Ibis Du Rheu, Black Corton, Quel Destin, Riviere D’Etel and Delta Work.  Of course, Grade 1 performers are not confined to horses in training but can be bought as stores.  Lalor, Grand Sancy, Dynamite Dollars and Stage Star were all bought unraced.

Tom is not retained by any one individual or party to represent them in buying horses and so the illustrious list of varied successful clients in both England and Ireland reflect this.  We welcome enquiries from all types of owners, trainers & racing managers and whether your wish is for a top-class horse, or just a fun pointer, Tom takes pride in getting results and assisting clients in smoothly guiding you through the process of buying a racehorse.  Obviously, all enquiries are dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

  • 'Tom's experience and knowledge of bloodstock when sourcing new horses is invaluable. That combined with graft gives us every chance of continued success at the highest level.'

    Paul Nicholls | 13 times Champion National Hunt Trainer
  • Most notably Tom purchased Caspar Netscher for us. He puts a lot of time and effort into thorough research, often riding the horse as well, which makes us appreciate the 'hands on' approach that Tom has. As we all know, there are no guarantees in life but we both feel that Tom has given us an edge when it comes to making decisions about buying horses. We would especially recommend Tom to the first time buyer as he would make a purchase 'tailor-made' to the prospective buyer's budget and experience, with a no nonsense approach.

    Charles Wentworth | Owner
  • I've been delighted with the help that Tom has been able to give us, and I'll certainly be using him again and do already recommend him to others. Tom is extremely approachable, works very hard to get to know the horses that he is buying and always goes the extra mile to find the right horse regardless of the budget he's working to.

    Graeme McPherson | Trainer
  • We've had great success.  I think every horse we have bought from Tom has won.  I think he's well worth using at all levels. You can buy a horse at great value or you can buy a Cheltenham horse.

    Lucinda Russell I Trainer
  • 'Tom is very knowledgeable and has been a huge help purchasing some nice individuals for us including our talented mare Smart Talk. We have enjoyed a great deal of success and I would have no hesitation in recommending Tom’s services to anyone.'

    Brian Ellison | Trainer
  • 'Tom bought us our biggest winner to date in Present View who won at the Cheltenham Festival. I find him simple and straightforward to work with and more importantly he understands the type of horse we are looking for. I eagerly anticipate seeing Tom's shortlist before each sale and it potentially saves time looking at the wrong horses.'

    Jamie Snowden | Trainer
  • 'I’m just back from a wonderful days racing at Ascot having seen Black Corton win yet again with Bryony. You certainly found us a superstar. Thanks to you and Paul, and thanks to Andy and Jez for getting me involved in racing at that now famous lunch.'

    Graeme Brooks | Owner with P F Nicholls
  • 'Thanks for all you’ve done pal..all really excited for the Festival..see you there '

    Jeremy Kyle | Owner with P F Nicholls
  • 'Wow, wow, wow! What a day? And one we will never forget! One For Arthur - what a boy!  He has taken us on such an amazing journey.  I just want to say a huge thank you for finding this superstar for us, he has just been a dream.  We have really apreciated your time, advice and patience when we look for new horses and you have never let us down.'

    Deborah Thomson | Grand National Winning Owner with L Russell
  • 'Tom has a great strike-rate for us and has found some really promising form horses for this year, both from the sales and from a visit to his yard down in Somerset.  Given the type of horses we have bought, we plan to have a few more winter runners.  Tom has helped us immensely with his knowledge and understanding of form horses, caterers for all needs, and is great at finding horses for the job within a budget.'

    Jimmy Moffatt Trainer
  • 'Tom has been sourcing horses for me for many years and we have enjoyed great success together, including at the highest level with plenty of black type success and a Grade 1 winner in Adagio. Tom and his team are very approachable and make the process of buying horses easy whether that is privately, through the sales ring or claiming horses from France. He knows what type of horses my owners and I are looking for, has high attention to detail and works with us to make everything as easy and pleasurable as possible. We have bought some exciting new horses recently and can’t wait to see them in action in the coming months. We look forward to continuing our association with Tom and having plenty more winners together.'

    Dave Pipe | Trainer