IT’S an ecstatic feeling for a trainer when they get their first winner but it is often the case that the chase for a second success can feel twice as long. Not for Katie McGivern, who scored her first two winners inside seven days.

The Meath woman, now based in Wexford, is a daughter of Joanna Morgan and Tommy McGivern, two very successful figures in the game, but she is now making her own name as both a breeze-up consignor and trainer.

“For the last 10 years, I’ve been doing breeze-ups, pin-hooking and that kind of thing,” she says. “I broke into that to have my own opinion and my own say in things. That is kind of how Derryconnor Stud came about.

“I wanted to do it for myself rather than always being the daughter of Tommy or Joanna. Saying that mum and dad were always only a phone call away. I could always tap into their years of knowledge where maybe some other person might not have had that.

“The pressure in terms of them being my parents was probably harder during my riding days. The two of them were exceptional jockeys but I never really had the passion for it. But with buying and selling I believe I am as good so there isn’t the same sort of pressure.”

Katie is a qualified physiotherapist, but with the horses going so well, she is not likely to be handing out advice on tight hamstrings anytime soon.

“I started the breeze-up operation while I was doing physiotherapy in college,” she explains. “My passion was always horse racing but I wanted something to fall back on. I had two breezers that made money in the first two years. In my final year in college, I bought three and it just continued to grow year after year.”

Katie explains that the move to take out a training licence made sense for a number of reasons

“I took out my licence because the odd year I would have a couple left over from the breeze-ups,” she says. “I had very good staff and I wanted to keep them busy during the summer months. I also couldn’t see the point of handing horses to trainers when I could control the situation myself.”

So Majestic is the horse that gave Katie her first two wins in quick succession. The filly had a tough start to her racing career but is now vying for a third win in a row at the Curragh this Sunday following victories at Down Royal and Naas

“I was expecting huge things for So Majestic,” says Katie. “I really thought I would see her in Group races. I loved her so much that I bought her half-sister.

“We sold So Majestic and we had heard she went to William Haggas but she got sick and it just didn’t work out for her there so she ended up going back to the pre-training yard. Next thing she was in the February Sale so we decided to take a punt on her.