Tony Santic’s boutique Makybe breeding operation moves into a new phase this spring with the addition of superbly bred Group Three winning sprinter Purrealist as the foundation stallion for one of Victoria’s most progressive farms.
Purrealist is a half-brother by leading shuttle sire Tale of the Cat (USA) to champion miler Racing to Win, a winner of 11 races and $3.3million.
Encosta de Lago is the sire of Racing to Win, so any mare by him (and there are plenty in Victoria!) who goes to Purrealist will produce a horse that is a very close genetic relation to Racing to Win, a gamble well worth taking!
English Derby winner Galileo shuttled to Australia for five seasons leaving 556 live foals, the last of them now yearlings and while Australians are still waiting for him to kick the big goal in this part of the world, his Northern Hemisphere results have vaulted him into the Top Five of Bill Oppenheim’s Midyear 2008 Apex - Top 50 Sires (200+ yr-starters 2002-2008).
The APEX ratings attempt to provide a more reliable indicator to the merit of a stallion by looking at his number of runners that earn a certain amount of prizemoney in a year, the threshold in North America last year for an A Runner being $US112,280.
News that Group Two STC Silver Slipper winner Shaft will join the roster at Darley this spring adds further to the growing number of sons of champion sire Flying Spur now making their way to stud in Australia.
Crowned Champion sire for 2006/2007, Flying Spur has been a very good sire from day one, but with an early bias towards fillies, he has had little opportunity to succeed as a sire of sires until now although New Zealand Group One winner San Luis, has left a couple of stakes-winners in Star of Luis (now in HK) and Eel Win.
TARA MADGWICK
Melbourne Race 7 No. 5 Mimi Lebrock
First start in Melbourne, but has been working down there for some time. Has good fresh record and raced well against the best fillies and mares last prep, hard to beat.
CRAIG TOMPSON Sydney Race 5 No. 5 Maybe I.
Quite impressed with the debut win and very impressed with the work on Tuesday morning leading into this. Nicely bred filly that has made the progress to be up to this standard.
