Makybe Diva FROM CHAMPION TO LEGEND
M akybe Diva may never have become the household name if not for the purchase of famed mare, Tugela. Croatian-born Port Lincoln tuna fisherman Tony Santic enlisted the services of John Foote Bloodstock to purchase an American-bred broodmare. The mare was in foal to Irish Derby winner Desert King and was knocked down at 60,000 Guineas at the 1998 Tattersall’s December Mare Sale at Newmarket, UK. The resultant filly was offered for sale as a weanling, but failed to attract a bid. Not knowing what to do with the young horse, Santic had her sent to Australia with her mother. The unusual name of the three-time Melbourne Cup winning mare was derived by taking the first two letters from each of the names of employees at Tony’s Tuna, owned by Tony Santic in Port Lincoln at the time – Maureen, Kylie, Belinda, Diane, and Vanessa. Little did they know the impact that name would have on the fabric of Australia’s time-honoured race.
NUMBER 1 (left): Glen Boss and Makybe Diva combined for their first Melbourne Cup in 2003. (Sean Garnsworthy/ Getty Images) WHATEVER THE WEATHER (right): Boss and the Diva go back to back in the driving rain in 2004. (Mark Dadswell/Getty Images) 1 2
10
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software