Cover image courtesy of Makybe Racing
Jolly Banner, who won one race under the name Wonder Kid in Australia, is now eight and is a multiple Group winner in Hong Kong after his most recent success in the G3 Premier Cup for trainer Ricky Yiu .
He is one of three stakes winners from Valkyrie Diva, alongside half-siblings Wales (Redoute's Choice) and C'est Beau La Vie (Bernardini {USA}), with all six foals to the track from the mare having been winners.
Her half-sister Makybe Diva's (GB) (Desert King {Ire}) breeding career was never going to reach the heights of her extraordinary feats on the racetrack, and while she has produced a respectable five winners from her eight to the track, her best performed has been the stakes-placed Divanation (All Too Hard).
While there is no doubt on whose name adorns the front gates at Tony Santic's Makybe Stud outside of Geelong, Stud Manager Joe Murray is full of praise for what Valkyrie Diva has been able to achieve from the breeding barn.
"She's brilliant and she probably puts her older sister to shame when it comes to being a broodmare," Murray told TDN AusNZ.
"She's brilliant and she probably puts her older sister to shame when it comes to being a broodmare." - Joe Murray
"She has always flown the flag with everything she has thrown. They have all gone out and won, which is a credit to her. She's so often referred to as Makybe's sister, but in her own right, she has been one of the better broodmares we have had here for sure."
Valkyrie Diva was the second Australian-bred foal from Tugela (USA) (Riverman {USA}), and produced an impressive four stakes winners, with the two Divas joined by Musket (Redoute's Choice) and La Amistad (Redoute's Choice) with black type.
Valkyrie Diva when racing
After a successful racing career which featured eight victories including a Group 3 win under Lee Freedman's eye, she retired to the Makybe broodmare band. With her first two pregnancies, she produced two colts by Redoute's Choice, Compass and Wales, both of which proved very popular at the yearling sales, with the first fetching $600,000 and the second $310,000.
Her third foal, Jolly Banner, was purchased by Yiu as a yearling for $300,000, while the fillies C'est Beau La Vie and Kentucky Diva (Fastnet Rock) were also popular in the ring and successful on the track.
Leaving her own legacy
Having built quite a legacy in her own right, the mare has earned pride of place at Makybe Stud and some deserved special treatment, away from her sister, who she has been a companion to for the past few years.
"She's easy as to deal with. She's as gentle as anything in the paddock. She is probably a little too soft. She's an old mare and you can’t throw her in the big herd anymore. You have to look after her, but she has done very well and she looks great," Murray said.
Valkyrie Diva is in foal to Widden Stud's Zoustar (pictured)
While Makybe Diva's breeding career was called to a close after she delivered a More Than Ready (USA) filly last year, Valkyrie Diva's life as a broodmare continues and she is successfully in foal to Widden Stud's Zoustar, having had a year off last season.
"She went in foal nice and early. We gave her the year off, the year before, because the Snitzel was a late foal. She'll probably head up to Coolmore to foal down and we haven't locked anything in for her yet," he said.
"She may go to one of the up-and-coming stallions because she can probably choose where she can go now."
Valkyrie Diva's Snitzel yearling filly was passed in short of her $400,000 reserve at this year's Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and will be retained to race in the famous Makybe silks.
Snitzel x Valkyrie Diva (filly)
"She'll be broken in next week. She had a little accident on the truck on the way back from the sales but she is as good as gold now. She will head to the breaker next week and we will retain her and race her unless somebody offers something for her in the meantime," Murray said.
"We will retain her and race her, unless somebody offers something for her in the meantime."- Joe Murray
Makybe also has the 4-year-old daughter by Starspangledbanner called Last Bling, who has won one of her seven starts and could well be joining her mother in the broodmare paddock this spring.
"We will see how she goes in her next race. She has had a bit of an interrupted campaign. She had an abscess and then the tracks haven’t suited her. At the moment, we'd love to keep racing her, but we will make a call on where we go with her from there," Murray said.
The last Diva
As for the final foal from the legendary mare herself, Murray said the More Than Ready filly is progressing well. She will be kept to race and breed from by Santic, but will be given plenty of time.
"She's as good as gold, plenty of personality and she bucks and kicks around with the other foals. She's in a mob of five fillies and she's definitely the head honcho there," he said.
Makybe Diva with her last foal by More Than Ready (USA)
"She's probably got more spunk and more of her mother in her than any of the other ones I have dealt with.
"She's is happy as anything. She is growing well and she won't be an early type, given her breeding, if she sees the track as a 3-year-old that will be the earliest we probably see of her."
Makybe Diva herself is settling into her post-breeding life well, enjoying retirement with the help of the occasional treats from her adoring owner.
"She's still running around with the pregnant ladies, getting well looked after. The last foal took a lot out of her and that's why Tony decided to pull the pin on her as a broodmare. We’ll look after her now. Tony was down there giving her a bag of apples a few hours ago," Murray said.
"She has a few quirks about her. She will pick one other horse to be friends with and it's all about that. She tends to single out one. It used to be herself and Valkyrie, but they are in separate paddocks at the moment. She’ll pick one buddy in the paddock and that's her thing."
