The Black Horse

THE BLACK HORSE

Shining a fierce light on the GREED, CORRUPTION, EXPLOITATION and INJUSTICE in horse racing and bloodstock around the world

BREAKING NEWS

15 December 2025

It didn't take arrogant bully John Magnier long to exact revenge for losing his High Court case over the sale of Barne Estate. Someone had to pay and he couldn't resist a quick pop at Maurice Regan, who he claimed in court did a million euros of business with Coolmore last year.

He decreed that Regan would be barred from using Coolmore stallions from now on, their vets could no longer attend Regan's horses including at Fethard Equine Hospital and his farms would no longer foal Regan's mares.

Coolmore is in decline and there are plenty of better stallions available in Ireland and America and loads of equine vets looking for an extra call, but only one Michael O'Rahilly, Coolmore's highly regarded foaling manager. Regan made O'Rahilly an offer he couldn't refuse and he jumped ship. Magnier didn't see that coming, which might be more proof he has lost the plot.

Then he moved on to the questions of whether to appeal the High Court decision and the prickly matter of the costs for the legal action he had brought. It took him three months to inform the court he intended to appeal when it should be completed in one, but he previously told the Barne side that he would tie this case up in litigation for years which would cost millions, and it could now be prolonged for another year and even more.

The benefit to Magnier is twofold: firstly, it will cause huge pain to the Thomson-Moore family for standing up to him and, secondly, it gives him a chance of overturning Judge Barrett's decisions if he can get a friendly judge put in charge of the appeal. Magnier has controlled much of the Irish judiciary for years, like he does with the bloodstock industry. So many judges are members of the Turf Club and Irish Horeseracing Regulatory Board that Magnier's influence is still strong and he can swing this if he can get one of his favourite judges to take over the appeal.

The upshot of the costs hearing before Mr Justice Barrett was that Magnier has to cough up the lot - a total of E6 million now, E4 million of which has been incurred by the Barne side. Isn't it great that no one has to worry if they are going to get paid as Magnier got his share last week from the sale of the UK nursing homes business, Barchester Healthcare, which he bought into two decades ago. It has now sold for £5.2 billion to US retail giant Welltower and he pocketed in excess of a billion for himself. Sometimes, just for a little perspective, it's worth remembering how much a billion is - a thousand millions.

Magnier was already a billionaire before the Barchester bonanza, yet he is tormenting the Barne owners by delaying the sale as long as possible out of spite because he failed to force it through on his terms as he tried to take advantage of their decision to sell up and move to Australia for the benefit of their five year old disabled son Teddy.

Magnier saw it as a fire sale and he was out to screw them for the lowest price possible. When Maurice Regan arrived on the scene offering E6 million more, it was hardly a surprise they decided to go with the Irish born property tycoon from New York. They needed the extra E6 million for their family's long term future.

Judge Barrett said: "The evidence indicates Mr Magnier's bid was just not the highest." What doesn't Magnier and his brief, Paul Gallagher, a former attorney general, understand about that simple sentence? The judge gave him a few more slaps: he was required to pay the highest legal costs award possible because he had lied during the lawsuit; the court had to mark its disapproval of his behaviour and the evidence given by his side was 'entirely false' and it 'cannot but have known to be untrue.'

The sale of the property had been on hold for two years pending the outcome of the case but will remain blocked due to Magnier's appeal. Martin Hayden SC, for the Barne side, said: "From the very beginning, Mr Magnier had tried to bulldoze his clients into submission through lawfare [defined as the strategic use of legal proceedings to hinder an opponent]. The defendants should not suffer additional costs from being required to resist an oppressive strategy." The judge agreed.

In a statement following the court ruling, Anna Thomson-Moore, a qualified lawyer, said the fact Magnier was pursuing an appeal would have a profound impact on their personal lives. "In view of the judgment, his intended position is vexatious. I appreciate that we cannot fetter his right to an appeal but it is a pernicious use of the legal system. We have endured the hardship of the unrelenting onslaught of the lawfare of the last two years.

"Being struck further in limbo has very real consequences for Teddy and his future. On a very personal level, I cannot get back time with my mum and will lose her to dementia. Any appeal means that the trustees ability to contract freely and complete the sale is fettered. That is an unreasonable restraint, being imposed by a party who has already shown that he is prepared to use deep pockets in a vexatious attempt to secure his desired outcome."

Gallagher complained the Barne parties had repeatedly 'mischaracterised' things Mr Magnier had said and made 'unjustified allegations' about his conduct, but no one listens to him anymore.

We have paused The Black Horse Newsletters to complete the third book in The Black Horse Trilogy. BEHIND EVERY FORTUNE LIES A CRIME will be published in early 2026. Following the first two books in the series, we will again be exposing the ever growing collection of crimes committed by John Magnier, Coolmore Stud and the wider racing and breeding industries.

Magnier has just lost a putrid High Court action in Dublin he brought to try and force the owners of Barne Estate to sell him their imposing French Chateau-style mansion and 751 acre farm in County Tipperary for E15 million when another potential buyer had offered a much higher price.

Magnier claimed he had an oral agreement sealed by a hand shake over supper at his splendid house on Coolmore Stud to buy the property and wanted the court to enforce the sale, but Judge Max Barrett ruled against all claims he made. The sale was never agreed and no contract was ever made, the judge said. It was an embarrassing drubbing, but one which Magnier thoroughly deserved considering the background to the case.

Barne Estate was owned in trust by Richard Thomson-Moore, his sister Dr Alexandra McCullough and their spouses and children. Richard and his wife Anna decided in February 2023 to move to Australia which would afford their seriously disabled son Teddy a healthier life and to see more of Anna's mother who has been diagnosed with dementia.

Magnier made the first moves when the farm was officially put on the market five months later, offering E10 million and E10.5 million in a linked stalking horse play. The higher bid was withdrawn and he proceeded with the E10 million offer which he eventually increased to E15 million and then E16.5 million.

US construction magnate Maurice Regan, who founded his company J.T.Magen in 1992 after emigrating from Kerry to New York, has made substantial property investments in Ireland over the last thirty years including through the Mercantile Group and has developed Newtown Anner Stud near Clonmel in County Tipperary alongside similar farms in Kentucky and New York.

Having become a very wealthy and influential figure in the tough environs of the New York business world, he is much more street wise than Magnier and 20 years younger. How ironic Magnier, who has hidden his true character for the past 40 years by avoiding personal media coverage, has now confirmed by his own hand that he's just an arrogant schoolyard bully from Cork.

Sale negotiations for Barne Estate ended when trustees accepted Regan's offer of E22.25 million and binding contracts were signed. Magnier had no signed contract so he threw a fit and instructed top law firm Arthur Cox to sue Barne Estate Ltd, Richard Thomson-Moore and the estate's trustees based in Jersey on behalf of himself, son John Paul Magnier and daughter Katherine Wachman. They really wanted the Barne Estate but only at their price.

While awash with legal jargon and argument, the underlying theme in Magnier's case appeared to be that he must be right because he's John Magnier, an Irish billionaire who left school at 15 when his farmer father died suddenly, that this is an Irish court and he must be telling the truth because he said so. A few years ago that might well have won the day, but Ireland's judiciary is slowly changing for the better.

As is usual for Magnier in these situations, he ordered his team to investigate Regan expecting to find dirt - he did the same in his legal fight over the stallion Rock of Gibraltar with Sir Alex Ferguson 22 years ago - which didn't impress Judge Barrett, not least because Regan wasn't even a party to the legal action. Regan gave evidence for the Barne Estate side and helped nail down Magnier's coffin.

The only dirt was stuck to the Magnier team. Judge Barrett made extensive reference in his judgment to how evidence given at the trial by the plaintiff's key witnesses, principally Magnier himself, Eddie Irwin (his senior accountant) and Joe Holohan (his farm manager), changed "in material respects" from what they swore in initial affidavits which undermined their credibility.

In other words, they lied as the case progressed in a concerted effort to counter the strong evidence put forward on behalf of Barne Estate.

Anna Thomson-Moore made a lasting impression when talking about her son Teddy, who needs constant care. She told the court: "On one of the calls Mr Stokes [estate agent] said to us, you know, Mr Magnier said 'I'll take you to court and I will tie this up for years in litigation and it will cost millions.'"

And that's what Magnier did; costs are estimated to be at least E6 million with the trial alone lasting 19 days over two months. Anna Thomson-Moore said the delay in selling the property and the legal case had an enormous impact on their family life. Magnier's representative said after Judge Barrett delivered his verdict that they took the case as a matter of principle. What principle was that - Magnier always wins?

The truth is he is a nasty, vindictive and sad old man who already owns 11,000 acres in just Tipperary and countless mansions around the world. All is not lost. If the proposed sale of Barchester nursing homes in the UK goes through he will add another billion to his collection.

Coolmore's great stallion Sadler's Wells, who died in 2011, has been stuffed and holds pride of place in their museum in Fethard. His son, Galileo, who became the world's best stallion in a glorious stud career, is currently being stuffed and will soon join Sadler's Wells.

John Magnier, who is 77, was metaphorically stuffed in the High Court. The best outcome to this sorry tale would be if, when he eventually passes, he is stuffed literally and put on display at Coolmore Stud, standing between Sadler's Wells and Galileo. What an attraction that would be; even Donald Trump would be jealous.

TELL YOUR CHILDREN: You can have far more money than you will ever need and so much power it will corrupt you, and still make yourself the biggest fool in Ireland.

William Jones - 21 September 2025