Makybe 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. After settling in, Makybe Diva was sent to trainer David Hall. She didn’t make her racetrack debut until July 2002 when she finished fourth in a Benalla maiden. People really started to take notice when she won her next six starts, ending with success in the Werribee Cup and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes during the 2002 Melbourne Cup Carnival. Winning the 2002 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (with Luke Currie aboard) automatically qualified the mare for the 2003 Melbourne Cup, so her trainer was able to spend FROM CHAMPION TO LEGEND Makybe Diva
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