Cover image courtesy of Trish Dunell
Curraghmore Principal Cunningham bred Tofane and cheered her home from his successful Te Awamutu farm, but preferred to laud the efforts of others in the progression of the mare, now successful three times at the top level.
Tofane first cracked the big time when she won last season’s G1 All Aged S. and following two major hiccups has returned to her best form to complete the G1 Stradbroke H. and Tatt's Tiara double.
“It doesn’t get much better and she is a great credit to Mike Moroney and all his team to have her back and regain her form. He has done a superb job with her and it’s all about how well he has conditioned her, she’s a great mare,” Cunningham said.
Tofane underwent successful throat surgery after a below par effort in last year’s The Everest and was then laid low by another health issue.
She was later treated at the Werribee Veterinary Clinic for a kidney infection and, with her campaign disrupted, was entered in the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, which thankfully for connections she was withdrawn from.
Tofane (NZ) after winning the G1 Stradbroke H. | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
Back on track
Tofane showed with her runner-up finish in the G2 Dane Ripper S. that she was close to her best form and then went one better in the Stradbroke before her Tiara heroics.
Cunningham originally purchased Tofane’s dam Baggy Green (Galileo {Ire}), who was the winner of one minor event, out of Bowness Stud’s draft at the Inglis Sydney Broodmare Sale for $23,000.
“I always wanted a nice mare by Galileo, and at that time, he didn’t have the respect in the Southern Hemisphere that he had everywhere else in the world,” Cunningham said.
“Equally, she was out of a Danehill daughter of User Friendly, who was a terrific filly when I was growing up in Europe. She won five Group 1s and was second in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.”
Tofane (NZ) at Curraghmore Stud as a yearling
Cunningham first sent Baggy Green to Pierro and the resulting filly Little Dove, was unraced and sold privately following the emergence of the mare’s half-sister Youngstar (High Chaparral {Ire}), who won the G1 Queensland Oaks.
Subsequently, another half-sister Funstar (Adelaide {Ire}) won the G1 Flight S. to lift Baggy Green’s profile.
“I sent Baggy Green to Ocean Park and Tofane was a good sort of foal that just kept improving and I made the call not to offer her as a yearling and elected to put her in work myself,” Cunningham said.
“I sent Baggy Green to Ocean Park and Tofane was a good sort of foal that just kept improving.” – Gordon Cunningham
“She was broken in by John Malcolm, of Cheltenham Stables, and Pam Gerrard nurtured her and she was a very impressive trial winner in the September of her 3-year-old career. It wasn’t long after that I sold her to Mike Moroney and his clients.”
Around that time, Cunningham was also developing a new property and subsequently sold Baggy Green to Valachi Downs Principal Kevin Hickman.
“Kevin is a great man to do business with and I was happy to sell the mare to him and I’m thrilled for them,” he said. “It caps off a great season for Ocean Park as well and we’ve had something like 23 or 24 Group 1 winners off the farm now.”
Baggy Green | Image courtesy of Valachi Downs
