Hall reflects on Makybe Diva as legend recognised at Flemington
The three-time Melbourne Cup winner’s first trainer speaks to ANZ Bloodstock News from Hong Kong
Seventeen years ago this week, trainer David Hall departed Flemington with the favourite for the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m); earlier that afternoon, Hall’s Pentastic (Pentire) had arrived in the last stride to take out the Craiglee Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m), coming out on the top of a five-horse photo from Blamey Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) winner Walk On Air (Eire), South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) hero Mummify (Jeune), AJC Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) runner-up Strasbourg (Umatilla) and Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) scorer Honor Babe (Honor Grades).
Pentastic scored his first Group win that September day, having placed in the Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m), the Canterbury Guineas (Gr 1, 1900m), the Rosehill Guineas (Gr 1, 2000m) and the AJC Derby as a three-year-old before adding two 2000-metre Listed wins at four. He was also second to the great Lonhro (Octagonal) in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) and fifth in Media Puzzle’s (Theatrical) Melbourne Cup during his four-year-old season.
As Hall walked out of the Flemington gates that day in 2003, little could he have known that, within four years, the Craiglee Stakes would be renamed after one of his stable stars.
Even more unlikely was that the name would be changed not for the 2003 Craiglee winner, but to recognise his stablemate, a mare who was at home in her box that day and who would never actually contest the 1600-metre feature throughout her long career.
That mare, of course, was the Tony Santic-owned Makybe Diva (Desert King), the three-time Melbourne Cup winner who, along with Sunline (Desert Sun), Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) and Winx (Street Cry), has been responsible for a golden era of fillies and mares down under.
Pentastic would go on to run an honourable fourth in the 2003 Melbourne Cup, just pipped on the post for third. However, it was his stablemate who began her run into the history books on that sunny first Tuesday in November.
“We actually had three runners in that Melbourne Cup, Piachay – who was owned by the same guy as Pentastic, Ray Orloff – he finished near last I think (20th of 23) so we had them at both ends! We won the race, ran fourth and at the tail end as well,” Hall told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“Pentastic was probably more the focus horse going into the spring, not so much after the Caulfield Cup because everyone started to warm to Makybe Diva when you could see she was coming on. There were two horses that I had, both of them were pretty exciting going into the spring.”
Foaled at Britton House Stud in Somerset, Makybe Diva was the first foal of the twice-raced Juddmonte mare Tugela (Riverman).
Tugela had been purchased by Santic’s agent John Foote at the 1998 Tattersalls December Mares Sale in 1998, in foal to Desert King (Danehill); the resulting foal, arriving March 21, 1999, was the filly who would become Makybe Diva.
Offered at the 1999 Tattersalls December Foal Sale as lot 1088, there were no takers for the nine-month-old filly, something that didn’t surprise Hall either when she arrived at his stable in late 2000, having been shipped from the UK to Australia with her dam.
“We knew that she was a horse that was going to need time,” he said. “She was passed in at the foal sales, nobody wanted her. She was a big, tall, weak, leggy staying-type filly and that’s how she arrived. It was no shock to see her like that, we knew she was going to take a fair bit of time being northern hemisphere-bred and the breed and the type that she was.”
It was almost two years before she would debut in July, 2002 in a nondescript maiden at Benalla over 1200 metres, finishing fourth. However, she would prove the revelation of the 2002 spring, winning six races in a row and progressing from a Wangaratta 1600-metre maiden victory to taking the Werribee Cup (Listed, 2000m) and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 2, 2500m) and qualifying for the 2003 Melbourne Cup in the process.
“Her (2003 spring) preparation was really targeted at that race,” Hall said. “We knew that she was still not really fully mature, she was pretty delicate. She had won six races in a row the preparation before, it was all sort of headed towards the Melbourne Cup. Because she’d qualified, we weren’t under pressure so we were able to cuddle her a bit.
“She had all these races leading up to it where she drew the outside gate, was going out the back and was working home and she continually improved, she kept running well and she kept hitting the line. We were really looking forward to (getting her up to) the distance, because we were really confident about her staying.”
While Pentastic was bound for the Craiglee Stakes on his way to the Cups, Makybe Diva was instead bound for the Stocks Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) for the mares at Moonee Valley on the Feehan Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) undercard, finishing fourth to AJC Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Sunday Joy (Sunday Silence).
Hall said: “She was still a bit delicate and we were trying to protect her a little bit. I thought the mares race was a good race for her, the Stocks Stakes, and that was the path that seemed suitable to me.”
While Makybe Diva was progressing steadily towards the Melbourne Cup, Pentastic was cementing his place at the top of betting for the race that stops the nation.
The pair first clashed in the Turnbull Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m), with Pentastic second and Makybe Diva fourth behind Studebaker (Lord Ballina), and they were expected to be closely matched in the Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) with Pentastic at $11 and Makybe Diva at $15. However, while Makybe Diva sprinted home on the inside for fourth with a “flashing light” performance heading towards the Melbourne Cup, Pentastic weakened to finish 14th, almost eight lengths from Mummify.
“I was pretty disappointed that Pentastic didn’t actually win the Caulfield Cup, I was pretty confident,” Hall continued. “He’d had a great prep and I just loved him as a horse. He was the one we were really quite confident about and the track was quite firm that day. He really stung up badly and he didn’t perform, so we went home pretty disappointed with him. We then changed his preparation a bit, we ran him in the Mackinnon and, oh my god, he went unbelievably well. He got beaten a short half-head and then he backed it up with a great run in the Cup, he probably just didn’t quite stay the two miles.”
If history had been different, perhaps today’s 16 runners would instead have been preparing for the Pentastic Stakes, but it was Makybe Diva who – with Hall’s guidance – was on the path to eminence.
After Hall moved to Hong Kong for the 2004-05 season, Makybe Diva was transferred to Lee Freedman, winning two more Melbourne Cups, an Australian Cup (Gr 1, 2000m), The BMW (Gr 1, 2400m), a Memsie Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m), a Turnbull Stakes and the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m).
Hall admits that he has been asked many times over the past 16 years whether he regrets leaving Australia behind given that Makybe Diva made the transition from a champion to a legend under Freedman’s watch, but the 56-year-old says that, on the balance of probabilities, he is content with his decision.
“Nobody can predict a horse is going to win three Melbourne Cups and, if I had stayed there, she may not have done that with me,” Hall said. “She went down to a farm environment, was trained away from Flemington which I think was quite important, and she had a bit of luck with the weather. She got a couple of tracks there that didn’t have the jar in it and she was able to maintain that form longer than horses might have done.
“That’s just the way things went, but on the other side of the coin, if I didn’t take the job in Hong Kong when I did, the opportunity wouldn’t have come around again. I think, at the end of the day, I made the right decision. Looking back, do I want two more Melbourne Cups or a career in Hong Kong? There’s probably going to be people having two different opinions about that, but I’m pretty happy with where I sit now.”
Hall will be watching the Makybe Diva Stakes – and all of today’s spring action from Australia – from his Hong Kong apartment, not reminiscing about days gone by but looking to the future.
“Of course, we have to keep up to speed with it all,” he said. “I’ve got a bit of an interest in a couple of horses down there. You watch the spring carnival and there are times that you think, I wish I could be down there, but I’m sure there are a lot of people that watch Hong Kong racing and our international day and say the same thing – they’d like to be here and be involved!
“I don’t think she’d have any problem these days. There’s plenty of talk about Makybe and Winx, but you take Winx out of the equation – as has been the case now for 18 months – and you definitely question (the quality). You look at the Feehan Stakes last weekend and Makybe would have cleaned them up.”
Makybe Diva was due to make her return to Flemington today for the race named in her honour, having been retired from broodmare duties last year.
However, the Covid-19 lockdown has halted that plan for now, with her owners hoping she can potentially fulfil the ambassador void that has been left by the recent death of the incredibly popular Subzero (Kala Dancer).
“We had retired her from breeding with the purpose of putting her back into the public eye,” Joe Murray, stud manager at Santic’s Makybe Racing & Breeding, told Racing.com.
“Tony always said when enough is enough (as a broodmare) he wanted to put her out there while we can, but this virus has ruined all our plans. It’s such a shame that this has happened, because she’s fit and healthy and well and ready to go to Flemington and put her best foot forward. Hopefully we’ll get to do it in 2021.”
Success for Hall, Freedman in Asia as Derby placegetters aim at Makybe Diva
Over in Hong Kong, Hall has switched to a dual-site operation this season, meaning that he has training bases at both Sha Tin as well as Conghua on the Chinese mainland.
After two of the 88 meetings in the Hong Kong season so far, Hall has had the least number of runners of any trainer so far with just four starters, but he has had one winner with Melbourne Hall (Harbour Watch) and a third with Sumstreetsumwhere (Highly Recommended).
However, his stable is blossoming with 68 horses on his books, just two short of the maximum 70 allowed.
“We’ve got a few new young horses and we’ve got a few horses that weren’t overraced last season that we’re hoping can improve,” he said. “It’s probably the most numbers that I’ve ever had and I’m really looking forward to the season.”
Among his horses is the exciting Joyful Fortune (Nicconi), who won two trials at Gosford when named Cerritus and trained by Kim Waugh.
Joyful Fortune won at his first start over the Sha Tin 1000 metres in July, scoring by almost five lengths in very fast time and earning comparisons to Group 2 winners Aethero (Sebring) and Voyage Warrior (Declaration Of War), who recorded similar times in restricted grade.
“The talking horse in my yard is Joyful Fortune,” he said. “He created a big impression at his first start, he’d shown a lot of potential and to do what he did and run the time that he did, not many horses can do that. He’s the one that everyone is focused on.”
Like Hall, Freedman also trains in Asia these days, having relocated to Singapore in 2017. He has already secured a training premiership in 2018, as well as numerous big-race victories with horses like Mr Clint (Power) and Sun Marshal (Sepoy).
However, while the five-time Melbourne Cup winner will not be represented at Flemington, the Freedman family can still take out today’s feature with Lee’s brother Anthony and nephew Sam preparing Victoria Derby winner Warning (Declaration Of War) to run in the Makybe Diva first-up.
“It’s the beginning of a Melbourne Cup campaign which is a long campaign. He’s a little soft at this stage,” Sam Freedman said. “Hopefully he’ll finish off sharply. I can’t see him figuring until he gets out in distance to at least 2000 metres and our ultimate goal is the Melbourne Cup.
“He’s been trialling up well in the blinkers and that was a good hitout. We’re really happy with him. He’s in nice condition and is enjoying himself. It will be good to have him back at Flemington where he is undefeated.”
Warning finished third in the South Australian Derby at his most recent start, with the two horses who finished in front of him that day, the Danny O’Brien-trained Russian Camelot (Camelot) and Dalasan (Dalakhani) for Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas, also stepping out today.
The younger Freedman said: “I thought Warning was brilliant in Adelaide as he was held up and should have finished second to Russian Camelot, rather than third, although he finished three or four lengths behind him.”
Dalasan, who won the Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on this card last year, will also represent something of a throwback to the Craiglees of old for co-trainer Macdonald with the four-year-old to be ridden by Jordan Childs.
“Incredibly Jordan’s dad Greg rode Gold Guru for me in this same race when it was known as the Craiglee Stakes back in 1998 and he ran fifth behind my other top horse at the time, Umrum,” Macdonald told Racing.com.
“I have great memories of this day with Southern Speed also winning the Craiglee in 2012 and of course Dalasan last year in the Danehill.”
Last night, Dalasan was the $9 fourth favourite with TAB, with Russian Camelot holding the call at $3.80; Warning was at $51.
The Makybe Diva Stakes is race seven on today’s Flemington card and will jump at 3:35pm.