Pictured are Dr Emmeline Hill, a University College Dublin (UCD) genomics scientist, and Irish racehorse trainer and breeder Jim Bolger, co-founders, Equinome, the UCD equine genomics company with the racehorse Banimpire.

Equinome, a leading Irish equine genomics company, has opened a sales and marketing office in Sydney in response to rising demand for its equine genomics services in the Asia-Pacific region. Australia and New Zealand are world leaders in the bloodstock industry and home to many of the world’s finest Thoroughbred racehorses.

Equinome’s latest development follows the launch in 2010 of their first test, the Equinome Speed Gene Test and subsequent launch of the Equinome Elite Performance Test in 2011.

Equinome, an Enterprise Ireland client company, has already secured clients in USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Ireland, UK, France, Russia and Singapore. In recent months, major Australian stallion farms Widden Stud and Swettenham Stud have publicly begun to market their stallions with their results from Equinome’s genetic tests.

University College Dublin spin-out, based at NovaUCD, Equinome was established in 2009 by Dr Emmeline Hill, a UCD genomics scientist, in partnership with Mr Jim Bolger, the renowned Irish racehorse trainer and breeder.

Equinome researchers, in collaboration with UCD researchers, have published more scientific papers on Thoroughbred exercise genomics than any other research group worldwide. Through its associations with top-class breeders and trainers, Equinome has access to large numbers of elite horses at various stages of training and competition that provide subjects for its on-going research programme to identify and characterise the molecular genetic variants underlying key performance and health traits in the Thoroughbred.

Equinome’s latest announcement, made at an event held in Enterprise Ireland’s offices in Sydney was attended by Ireland’s Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Leo Varadkar TD who was on a tourism and trade visit to Australia to promote Irish business, tourism and the Gathering Ireland 2013.

Speaking following the announcement, Minister Varadkar TD said, “Equinome’s Australasian office marks a new chapter for this pioneering Irish company. The company’s genetic tests for Thoroughbred horses are truly innovative and have the potential to make a significant contribution to the further development of the Thoroughbred industry. This new office will enable Equinome to gain a foothold in the very important Asia-Pacific region. It’s great to see a company with roots in University College Dublin, and based on Irish research, making progress into this high potential market.”