JACK Davison trained his first winner in August 2018, Black Magic Woman, less than a year after taking out his licence, and has steadily built a fine reputation, attracting many leading owners and breeders to place their trust in him.

In the intervening years he has steadily built on that initial success, and 2024 is proving to be the best year yet in his fledgling career. His 14 wins in Ireland this year has already surpassed his previous best, set two years ago and repeated again in 2023, and his recent victory with She’s Quality in the Listed Abergwaun Stakes, represented his fourth stakes win.

That road to blacktype success started with his mother’s homebred Mooneista, and she sold for 850,000gns after a career with Davison that saw her win the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh, the Listed Woodlands Stakes at Naas, both races in which she also placed, while she was runner-up in the Group 2 Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes and put in a fine effort when fourth at Royal Ascot in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes.

Killarkin Stud

Last year, Thunderbear, another bred by his parents at Killarkin Stud, gave Davison a second pattern win when the three-year-old won the Group 3 Dubai International Airport World Trophy Stakes at Newbury, the highlight of a year that saw the trainer saddle three winners across the Irish Sea.

Now She’s Quality, by my count his 60th winner as a trainer, earned a well-deserved blacktype victory at Tipperary, the three-year-old’s fourth win in two busy seasons. The Rathbarry Stud-bred daughter of Acclamation (Royal Applause) was making her 15th start, and this sound runner was previously runner-up in the Listed Polonia Stakes at Cork. Her victory also comes at a most opportune time for Rathbarry, as they will offer her full-sister in Book 2 of the Goffs Orby Sale as Lot 928.

This will be in the same ring in which She’s Quality was knocked down for €195,000 to the trio of Jack Davison, Barry Lynch and John Bourke, and where a year earlier another full-sister, Saeda Time (Acclamation), sold for €78,000 to Rabbah Bloodstock. The latter filly was placed at two in France. They are all out of Quality Time (Exceed And Excel), and her only other produce to date is the unraced two-year-old, Tanjen (Kodi Bear).

More profit

Quality Time was bred by Darley and raced by Godolphin, and she won in England at two and narrowly missed out on blacktype when fourth in a Group 3. Sold at the end of her second season for €65,000 at Goffs, she made her way to the USA where she won two more races, and made the journey back across the Atlantic after she was purchased at Keeneland for $65,000. She has repaid that investment, and hopefully will bring more profit next month with her yearling daughter.

She’s Quality is the 68th stakes winner for Acclamation, stalwart of the stallion ranks at Rathbarry since 2004, and the sire has always been popular with breeders. His son Romantic Warrior is the current star of Hong Kong Racing, his sons at stud include Dark Angel and Mehmas, his daughters are Group 1 producers, and he is thankfully hale and hearty at the age of 25.

Quality Time is one of three winners from her dam, the unraced Crinoline (Street Cry), and the only one not to get blacktype. Her half-brother Highland Dress (Shamardal) won five races and was twice stakes-placed, but those achievements were bettered by Make A Challenge (Invincible Spirit). Sold for only £6,500 at two, he earned more than £250,000 from 10 victories, half of them gained in listed races at the Curragh, Navan and Naas. One of those wins was four years ago in the Listed Abergwaun Stakes, won by She’s Quality, when the race was run at Navan.

Saoirse Abu

Crinoline is a half-sister to the $260,000 yearling purchase Saoirse Abu (Mr Greeley) and she won both the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes and the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at two. While she failed to add to this in her second season, she did place third in the Group 1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and then headed to the December Sale in Newmarket where she sold for 1,950,000gns. She is the dam of a couple of winners, most notably this year’s winner of the Listed Vintage Tipple Stakes at Gowran Park, Enfranchise (Invincible Spirit).

She’s Quality’s fourth dam Morning Has Broken (Prince John) was no shakes in two starts on the racecourse, but at stud she has left a proud legacy. Her granddaughter was Balanchine (Storm Bird), a dual classic heroine when she won the Group 1 Irish Derby and Group 1 Oaks at Epsom, while other notable family members include Group 1 2000 Guineas and Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes winner Coroebus (Dubawi), Group 1 Prix de Diane-French Oaks winner West Wind (Machiavellian), dual Group 1 Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow (Helmet), Australian dual Group 1 winner Trust In A Gust (Keep The Faith), 2019 Group 1 Irish Derby winner Sovereign, and Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes hero Art Connoisseur (Lucky Story).