How did you get into racehorse ownership?

As Killarkin Stud was primarily a breeding operation up until now we needed to move with the times and adapt which ultimately meant owning more homebred racehorses, the fillies in particular.

What was your best day at the races and why?

While we’ve had some great days with Moon Unit, the dam of both Miacomet and Moonmeister, who we also once owned and raced.

Sunday, October 13th was an extra special day because Miacomet won at the home of Irish racing (Curragh) and, of course, because both the filly and the trainer are homebreds! (trainer, Jack Davison).

In your experience, which racecourse in Ireland treats owners the best and why?

On a positive note there has been massive improvement across all of the racetrack facilities which has added greatly to the raceday experience. Those responsible for these improvements should be commended for this. The Curragh is now our favourite track to go racing because the last time we were there we got a trophy!

Joking aside, the complementary meal for owners is very good there and the polite staff really add to the experience. It would be nice if all of the tracks could provide a drink with the complementary meal – it would add the finishing touch. We have noticed that they do this at Gowran Park and this should be par for the course.

Aidan McGarry (owner relations manager, HRI) is always very helpful with tickets and anything needed to facilitate owners.

Flat or jump racing, which do you prefer and why?

Flat racing is and always has been our preferred code. We try to breed for speed and that’s also what we like to watch – fast horses (preferably ours!).

What qualities do you look for in a trainer?

We like our trainer to be a good communicator, with a good sense of humour and an ability to both train and place our horses well; sometimes we compromise with Jack on the first two aforementioned, because he seems to do the latter two very well! We will hold off with the eviction notice for the time being anyway.

We also like to see our horses hold their form as this is a sign that they are being well looked after and are happy in their training environment.

What significance do your colours hold?

Our colours replicate the front of the main house at Killarkin which is ivy clad with white diamond windows. The colours are a nod to the stud itself, winners have been bred and raised here since the ‘60s and much more recently they have been trained here as well.

We try to breed sound stock that have good minds, and injecting some speed into the recipe is a big thing.

Recently the ‘commercial market’ hasn’t seemed to put the same value on what we’ve been offering at the sales but that’s okay as the contingency plan is working out well!

Have you any horses to look forward to?

We have two lovely yearlings coming through, Miacomet’s full-sister and a lovely Mehmas colt who is a half-brother to another one of our promising homebred fillies, Madaket Mystery, to look forward to next year.

We also have our flagbearer and pride and joy Black Magic Woman to look forward to as a four-year-old. She’s been a prolific earner this year on the track and a dual blacktype achiever too.

Miacomet will fly the flag for the remainder of the season.

What would help to make Irish racing more competitive for the smaller owner/trainer?

In an effort to make Irish racing more competitive and all round better to watch I don’t think that any one owner should be allowed to run more than two horses in any one race, three at the absolute most anyway.

More claiming races should be provided because they offer a new owner the opportunity to get involved immediately. People seem to want instant gratification nowadays and the claiming game can cater for that while the lucrative new series of auctions races is a real incentive to have a two-year-old in training in Ireland.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming a racehorse owner?

Join a syndicate or racing club to dip the toe in. That way the new owner can get a feel for owning a racehorse ownership without having to re-mortgage the house and hopefully their involvement can snowball from there.

Paula Davison was in conversation with Olivia Hamilton