Think of the best horses to have raced in Australia over the past two decades and chances are you’re immediately going to think of mares: Winx, Black Caviar, Makybe Diva, Sunline.
Absolute champions on the racetrack, so it stands to reason that once they finish their racing days they will produce champion progeny for years to come, right?
Hold your horses.
In fact, thoroughbred breeding has a history of throwing up funny matings which show moderately performed mares during their racing days can actually turn out to be the most prolific producers and sought-after broodmares at stud.
Which is why when it comes to arguably Australia’s greatest racehorse of all time, Winx, expectation might be best kept in check with her first foal, by stallion Pierro, which was born in the Hunter Valley over the weekend.
Three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva has had eight foals make it to the races since starting life as a mum – and none of them have managed to win more than two races or $75,000 in prizemoney.
Winx and her little Pierro foal born in the Hunter Valley.Credit:Winx Digital/Winx Owners
The incomparable Black Caviar never tasted defeat in 25 career starts – and yet her progeny are struggling to find the winning post and wondering what all the fuss is about. Of her five colts and fillies to race, none has won more than two races to date.
There are theories that abound why.
“The expectation is often so high for those champion mares firstly, that it’s almost impossible for them to get one as good as themselves,” says respected bloodstock agent James Bester.
“And secondly there’s a school of thought that says what it takes to become a serious champion racehorse is a quality of dominance that includes aggression and fighting spirit, and those qualities which are best served on the racetrack might not necessarily transfer to motherhood.
Winx under Hugh Bowman in one of her first wins in the Queensland Oaks.Credit:Tertius Pickard
“Another issue is they often have exacting race careers and it might detract from their subsequent performance as a broodmare. They often race longer than your average broodmare and there’s a school of thought it can diminish from their performance as a broodmare. There are a lot of theories, but no one can prove or disprove them one way or another.”
Winx’s journey to motherhood has been a trying one after finishing her racing career with 33 straight wins and four Cox Plate victories.
She lost her first foal by I Am Invincible two years ago and her owners – Peter Tighe, Debbie Kepitis and the family of the late Richard Treweeke – insisted she not be served for the next breeding season to allow her to recover from the trauma.
Now, she’s safely become a mum as an 11-year-old, which is typically much later than when broodmares have their first foal.
Her owners have again stressed they will prioritise nothing but her welfare as she adjusts to rearing her filly in the lush paddocks of the Hunter’s horse heaven.
Given the filly was a little overdue (the normal gestation period for a thoroughbred is approximately 11 months), time is limited if her owners want to have Winx served again this breeding season. They have yet to announce a decision.
The filly will be retained by Winx’s owners to race, and if she makes it to the track, will eventually be trained by the mare’s master conditioner Chris Waller.
It at least saves the debate of how much she would sell for if ever put through a sales ring.
“One would expect an Australian yearling record [$5 million],” Bester says.
“In my opinion, physically Pierro’s absolutely perfect for Winx. She’s a mare of great size and scope and length; and he’s a perfectly balanced medium-sized horse of enough scope. Physically, he complements her so well.
“If you were to send her to a too tall, too long, too leggy stallion then you’re less likely to get the ideal foal.
