April 2020 Member of the Month: Robert Devlin

Robert Devlin is the TOBA April Member of the Month.

An accomplished businessman and philanthropist, Robert Devlin is bringing the luck of the Irish to horse racing. Of Irish descent himself, Devlin named his Curragh Stables after the Gaelic word for a coracle, as well as the famed Emerald Isle racecourse. Devlin heads up Curragh Stables with son Michael and is riding high, thanks to graded stakes winner Killybegs Captain.

The Devlins brought their heritage to bear when naming Killybegs Captain. Thirty years ago, Devlin and wife Kate became close to an Irishwoman named Samantha Boyle in Houston, Texas. While visiting Samantha in her native County Donegal, the family touched down in the fishing village of Killybegs, where Boyle’s brother captains a large vessel.

On one such voyage, the Devlins had a few young horses to name. That included a gray son of Mizzen Mast purchased for $75,000 at the 2016 April OBS Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. The Devlin family brain trust—Robert and grandsons Jack, Ian, and Luke—decided to name their new horse after Boyle’s brother. And Killybegs Captain the horse has rewarded their faith. “Killybegs, he’s six years old, and he just keeps getting better each year,” Devlin said proudly.

Hard-knocking Killybegs Captain has won 7 of 26 starts and earned $572,453. He first earned black type, heading to Tampa Bay Downs in February 2019 to romp in the six-furlong Pelican Stakes by 4 ½ lengths. The gray colt racked up a series of stakes placings before landing the September 21 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes (G3) at Laurel Park.

“Killybegs” kicked off 2020 by winning a second edition of the Pelican. “We have ten horses, give or take,” Devlin said, “and we’ve had some success with a handful. But Killybegs Captain really has emerged as the best horse that we’ve ever had in our stable and unfortunately, which is kind of ironic that we’re talking today, because he was supposed to run in the Dubai World Cup [card] today in the sprinter race.” The horse flew to Dubai for the March 28 Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1), but when the Dubai World Cup (G1) and its undercard were canceled, he flew home untested.

Born in Brooklyn, Devlin grew up in Schenectady, New York, before moving to Louisiana to attend Tulane University. He worked at Fair Grounds during his junior and senior years in college, where he bonded with fellow New Yorker Tony Cerasaro over their growing love of Thoroughbreds. “And we just decided, after we graduated together, that we were such good friends that we would meet every year in Saratoga, usually over Travers weekend,” Devlin recalled. Cerasaro passed away in 2017, but Devlin and friends honor his memory each summer at the Spa.

The Devlins always enjoyed visiting Saratoga with sons Michael and Matthew, as well. The former of course, helps run Curragh Stables, while the latter works as an announcer for the Toronto Raptors. “In early 2000, we—through a friend, Joe Torre — started getting involved with the horses and were co-owners, with Joe, on a horse called Sugar Punch,” Devlin said. Three-time stakes winner Sugar Punch proved sweet to own. “And then as we got going with that, it gave us an interest to pursue it a little bit more, so we got involved with a syndication,” he added.

Ultimately, the Devlins chose to branch out with friends and family. “It’s mainly Michael and myself, although we do have a small number of people who are friends who also wanted to be part of Curragh Stables, and one was Joe Torre,” Devlin said. “And the others, you know, personal friends, as well as businesspeople, but a very small group of around six people.”

Devlin’s philanthropic efforts range from highlighting the Irish-American community to working to end domestic violence with the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation. Devlin’s hard work has earned him such plaudits as an Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Anti-Defamation League’s Torch of Liberty Award. An inductee into the Irish-America Hall of Fame, he is currently working with the American Irish Historical Society, which bestowed a gold medal on him, to establish the brand-new Irish Arts Center in Manhattan. And now the success of Killybegs Captain has added another feather to Devlin’s already distinguished cap.