AS a fine autumn day unfolds in Closutton, barn manager and work rider Imran Haider is all smiles aboard an elegant Energumene, despite the celebrations the night before receiving his Irish Thoroughbred Industry Employee Award to rapturous applause from his colleagues.

Willie Mullins is in fine form too, revelling in the chaos of the simultaneous arrival of two new puppies and four ducks at the yard: “It takes a bit of management,” he says.

Full of palpable enthusiasm for the season ahead, Mullins admits: “Every morning I go up to the gallop and look at what I look at. You know, myself and Jackie and Patrick, we pinch ourselves, because when we came here we had six horses out there. To see the type of talent that’s out there now, not only the equine talent but the human talent.”

Looking ahead, it’s not just the big races that bring Mullins satisfaction: “I enjoy training horses for people and I enjoy different people’s goals with their horses. We had Tina Meehan win a bumper in Tramore the other day. The horse is called after the man’s wife and his son’s mother and that was like winning a Gold Cup for them.

“I got as much kick out of that, getting her to win a race…it’s not all about winning the top ones… I came home from Tramore that day thinking wow, that was a job well done.”

This season, Mullins welcomes the return of Gigginstown horses after a six-year hiatus.

“It’s great to have them back, they are a huge team in Irish racing, they are good for Irish racing with the amount of money they put through the system, both in sponsorship and buying horses from the point-to-point fields.

“The amount of value Gigginstown adds to Irish racing is immense. And you know, [Michael O’Leary ] he’s shown that over the years. He’s not afraid to put his money where his mouth is. That’s a great asset to have in an owner and we are delighted that we are back together as a team,” he added.

As we head into the darker months, in discussing race attendance, Mullins is clear: “The one thing I don’t like about racing at the moment is there’s a 35-minute gap between races. It’s bad enough in jump racing, but in flat racing you know, you can only go for so many cups of tea or drinks or whatever between races. It makes the day very long and unappealing to customers.

“I think racing needs to sharpen itself up and have a bit of a buzz going… for regular race goers they want to go and be entertained. They want racing at least every 30 minutes. I think that extra five minutes, I don’t think it’s good for racing. So, I’d be an advocate of tightening it up. That’s my main message, or my wish for racing, to tighten things up and make it more entertaining for the regular race goer.”