Holloway paid $110,000 for Mamzelle Tess through the Inglis Digital May Online Sale last year as a breeding proposition only, looking to build his broodmare band. She went to Coolmore Stud's Merchant Navy, but after she missed, Holloway had a decision to make about her future.
A phone call to her previous trainer, Troy Corstens, confirmed that a racetrack comeback was a possibility and Holloway set about orchestrating a second life for Mamzelle Tess as a racehorse.
"She came off the track and I bought her out of the Inglis Digital (Sale). I really loved her when I watched her as a racehorse. She was very tough. I sent her to Merchant Navy, up in the Hunter Valley, but unfortunately, she did not get in foal," Holloway told TDN AusNZ.
"We are maybe looking for a bit of a fairytale for her. I got back onto Troy Corstens and said, you had her before, what do you think about putting her back in training? We weren't particularly thinking of any race, but I just asked if he thought she would be capable of tackling a decent race."
Mamzelle Tess when sold through Inglis Digital
Looking at the calendar of the autumn, there is a host of black-type mares' races Mamzelle Tess could be aimed at. She was arguably in the best form of her career in her final campaign, winning the G2 Sunline S. at The Valley, the same track and distance that this year's All-Star Mile would be run over. Her overall Moonee Valley record is strong, with one win and three placings from six starts, sparking an ambitious autumn plan for her new owner.
"We are now looking at The All-Star Mile," Holloway said.
As well as the fairytale comeback angle, Holloway is looking to push Mamzelle Tess into the Top 10 in the popularly elected vote which determines the majority of the field in the race, by donating a portion of her prizemoney to charity.
"We will offer a bit of money to charity if she gets in. We will split 10 per cent between charities Pinchapoo, and also the Peter Mac Cancer Foundation. If she gets a run, she gets money, and 10 per cent of that goes to the two charities. It would be a great thing if she could do it," Holloway said.
Having not run in quite a long time, Mamzelle Tess is not exactly high up in the public mindset and she is currently 24th in The All-Star Mile voting. A strong performance on Saturday in the G3 Geoffrey Bellmaine S. would be a timely boost given voting closes on Friday week.
"She's going to run this Saturday and I've spoken to Troy, and it will be a nice start and lead-up to her All-Star campaign. We will look to do some marketing and social media promotion behind her from there. It'd be a great story if she could get into The All-Star Mile," he said.
Excellent success kicks off 2021
While getting traction with a comeback horse in the fervour of an All-Star Mile voting campaign is not easy, you would be foolish to write off Holloway's plan, especially given the way 2021 has gone so far for the Irish-born, Melbourne-based businessman.
Less than a fortnight ago, Excellent Proposal (Exceed And Excel), who he bred from one of his handful of broodmares, caused a significant upset in winning the Listed Hong Kong Classic Mile at Sha Tin, the second leg of the 4-year-old Classic Series.
Holloway sold Excellent Proposal for $200,000 through Fernrigg Farm at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale to Bill Mitchell and has watched on with particular pride as he won three of his four starts in Australia and then headed to Hong Kong, where he has won four of his six starts for trainer John Size.
Excellent Proposal as a yearling
Holloway was looking to up his quality of broodmare band and on the advice of Wexford Farm's, Martin Byrne, paid $180,000 for a Pivotal (GB) mare called Procrastination (GB) at the 2016 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale. She was stakes-placed and twice a winner in France, and was actually bred out of an Australian family, being the daughter of Group 2 winner Dilly Dally (Rubiton).
"I've been delighted to see how well Excellent Proposal has gone. He's done well over here and is hitting the highlights over there as well, which is great. Hopefully, he can go on to bigger and better things," Holloway said.
"Martin Byrne, who has been involved with breeding up in the Hunter Valley, he mentored me with my breeding journey and at the Gold Coast Sale up there, Martin knew a few of the guys and brought her to my attention," Holloway said.
"Martin Byrne, who has been involved with breeding up in the Hunter Valley, he mentored me with my breeding journey." - Ivan Holloway
"She was a lovely Pivotal mare and she just looked the part. We bought the mare in foal to Exceed And Excel and she had a Vancouver colt the next year, which I still have. She's thrown two beautiful colts, with Excellent Proposal and the Vancouver."
The 3-year-old Vancouver colt, named Potato Pete, is nearing a racetrack debut with Robert Kingston at Mornington.
Unfortunately for Holloway, Procrastination died soon after delivering the Vancouver colt, meaning his association with the family ends with Potato Pete.
"I know if I had that mare still, she'd be a very valuable mare, but that's all part of the ups and downs of breeding," he said.
A broad range of interests
Holloway does have a few other mares to focus his energy, both in Australia and back in his native Ireland.
"I've got a Fastnet Rock up in the Hunter Valley at Fernrigg Farm, she's now in foal to So You Think. I've also got a mare, called Winning Line, in foal to I Am Immortal," he said.
"I've got a couple of mares and foals in Ireland as well. I've got a Dalakhani mare over there, as well as a few foals on the ground. There's an Exceed And Excel filly, a Holy Roman Emperor colt and a Highland Reel on the way.
"I've been bringing horses over from Ireland and syndicating them here." - Ivan Holloway
"I've been bringing horses over from Ireland and syndicating them here. What I am trying to do, is breed a couple over there and bring them over here when they are ready to go."
While Holloway has shares in a few racehorses, the two which are the apple of his eye are his two with Kingston, Sophia's Choice (Fastnet Rock), who has won three of her 15 starts, and the aforementioned Potato Pete.
"They are named after my children," he explains.
Sophia's Choice
Passion driving ambition
While operating a global infrastructure business in the current environment is a challenge - Holloway is currently spending two weeks in quarantine in Melbourne having recently returned from Ireland - his passion for racing still burns brightly.
"I love racing. I love jumps racing and flat racing and I particularly love breeding. As soon as I could walk, I would be going to races at Gowran Park and Leopardstown and The Curragh and places like that. I got the bug for it when I was younger, and I guess I was more into the gambling side of it, then the breeding and racing," he said.
"I always had ponies and that developed into passion where I had a leg or a tail of a horse. That passion from the breeding side has grown and culminated in buying a couple of mares in Ireland about eight years ago.
"It would have been six years ago when I started to look at it a bit more seriously over here.
"The racing business over here is bigger than anywhere else and the money that is pumped in from various levels is great. You can have a go from any level and that's why I like it so much over here in Australia."
