Matings Mix: Miranda Park on producing types for Inglis Premier

Cover image courtesy of Miranda Park

Kicking off their breeding careers in the late 1970s with small numbers of not so commercial mares, Gary and Helen O'Meara purchased their current 200 acres in 2003, grateful of the educational experiences they had during their early days.

Gifted a stallion called Increase in the mid 1980s, they also stood Warmington (Ire) who caught Gary's eye at a sale he attended “on the way home from work with no intention of buying a stallion!”

Not able to afford big name mares, they tended to breed with older, problematic mares who, Gary says, taught them a lot.

“They were challenging and that gave us a great apprenticeship into the breeding game,” he said.

With their dad growing up next to the Smith family and being good mates with Tommy Smith's older brother, Gary and his brother Shane grew up hearing racing stories and in their spare moments headed to farms owned by friends, riding and learning how to break in horses.

From their first homebred winner Gunsu (Heir Presumptive {GB}) at Murray Bridge in November 1989 to four Group wins with Sirileo Miss (Pride Of Dubai), the O'Mearas have enjoyed their racing journey, one in which they are joined by their son Tom.

“I always said to Tom that once I got to 60, I'd want him running the place and he has really stood up,” Gary said. “If not for him we would've scaled right back, instead we have the biggest number of horses we've ever had.”

Miranda Park's star

One of the prized mares on the farm is She's Sirius (Galileo {Ire}) who was purchased by Tom when his parents were overseas, doing a good job at the first broodmare sale he had attended.

“It was a good day for us,” O'Meara said, happy to welcome to the farm a mare in foal to Pride Of Dubai of whom he was a fan.

“She ticked a lot of our boxes, a nice mare from a good family in foal to a commercial young stallion.”

Purchased for $75,000 at the 2017 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale in Sydney, produced for Miranda Park a filly who caught the eye from day one.

“She was such a beautiful type of foal that the guys at Inglis thought she'd be in the top five per cent of horses at the (Inglis) Melbourne Premier (Yearling Sale) but she kept growing and growing and by the time the sale took place a lot of the good judges thought that she was just too big.”

Symon Wilde was not put off however, purchasing her for $60,000 with her breeders showing faith in the filly by remaining in the ownership. Sirileo Miss has done a great job for her owners, winning nine races and amassing not far short of $1 million with her four successes in Group company.

Unfortunately, she was off the scene for a year due to a controversial ban on the back of a breast cancer drug positive swab but is now back in work and close to a jump-out with Gary hopeful “that she can return to her best form.”

She's Sirius, a two-time winning half-sister to the Listed Ottawa S. winner Spectrolite (Stratum), has also produced the metropolitan winner Notions (Press Statement) for Miranda Park. She is currently back in foal to Pride Of Dubai and will pay another visit to him this spring.

Pride Of Dubai the obvious choice

“She goes back to him for obvious reasons,” Gary said, taking note of the Pride Of Dubai success with Sadler's Wells (USA) strains over the past few years, 11 of his 33 stakes winners bred on that cross including the Group 1 winners Dubai Honour (Ire) and Desert Lightning (NZ).

With that in mind Miranda Park also have going to Pride Of Dubai the dual city winner Highly Secret (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}) who just recently foaled a colt by him.

Purchased for $25,000 through an Inglis Digital sale in February last year, the half-sister to the triple Group winner Lady Kipling (NZ) (Savabeel) produced city winners as her first two foals; Secret Plan (I Am Invincible) and Extra Secret (I Am Invincible) and Gary is impressed by her son.

“He is a very classy foal,” O'Meara enthused.

“He is exactly the style of horse we were hoping for from that mating, a correct colt with scope and strength and a quality head.”

“I feel that Pride Of Dubai does really well with those European style mares and Highly Secret is very much in that mode. She is a rangy type whilst Pride Of Dubai can get those strong, thick set horses a bit like himself. With these sorts of mares he sires real athletes.”

The O'Mearas put plenty of thought into how their mares are going to be best suited physically with another horse they like for their smaller, neater mares being nearby Woodside Park's Rich Enuff.

One of those mares is the Rosehill winner Markievicz (Starspangledbanner) who was picked up online a couple of years ago, the daughter of the dual Group 3 winner Gabbidon (Bel Esprit) currently in foal to Hellbent.

“She was a nice enough type to be accepted for the Magic Millions and Inglis Easter but didn't end up being sold,” Gary said.

Size and substance

“She is a bit on the fine side and Rich Enuff tends to put size and substance in the foals out of those type of mares, so we thought it an appropriate mating.”

Also booked in to Rich Enuff is the Doomben winner Blackboots (Wandjina), another Inglis Digital purchase with Gary noting that whilst Miranda Park has enjoyed good success with mares bought at the major live sales, he has been finding bargains online.

“You can pick up some excellent value online,” he said. “Though it is hard to get through all of the entries by yourself; fortunately we've had a few friends and agents give us a heads-up now and then.”

Currently in foal to Rubick, Blackboots foaled a Pierata filly last year. A daughter of the stakes-placed Total Response (NZ) (Kheleyf {USA}) she is “also a good physical match for Rich Enuff and the mating looks good on paper as well.”

Taking notes of proven nicks and crosses, the O'Mearas have a Rich Enuff coming this spring with one of their favourite mares, the homebred Corcovado (Churchill Downs) in foal to him, due to visit Hanseatic.

“We booked her into Hanseatic partly because we think he is a really good punt this year, we've had plenty of strong feedback about his progeny from breakers and trainers and also because it is a really nice pedigree.”

A city-placed, four-time winner for the family, Corcovado foaled a “very nice” Supido colt last spring and the Hanseatic mating provides for similar linebreeding to the Group 3-winning, highly successful broodmare Coup De Folie (USA) (Halo {USA}).

“We try not to breed too much due to sentiment,” O'Meara said, noting that Corcovado's dam Lominata (Encosta De Lago) was the first winner bred at Miranda Park, “but we do have a lot of faith in this family.”

Faith which was “vindicated” this week with Corcovado's first foal Gold Spirit (Turffontein) saluting at his Murray Bridge debut on Wednesday.

Shareholders in Acrobat

As shareholders in Coolmore Stud's young horse Acrobat, Miranda Park are also supporting him, taking note of the worldwide success of the Fastnet Rock/Galileo (Ire) cross, sending to him the imported mare Khatereh (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).

Currently in foal to Lucky Vega (Ire), the full sister to the four-time Group winner Kite Wood (Ire) is the sort of mare Gary hopes can produce another nice horse for this cross, one most recently represented by the G1 Winx S. winner Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock).

Also heading to Acrobat is the lightly raced Canterbury winner Vienna Waltz (Snitzel), another of Miranda Park's online purchases.

“She has left three winners by sons of Fastnet Rock, it is a cross that works so we are happy to take a punt with a new kid on the block.”

Already the dam of an Acrobat yearling filly, the daughter of the G3 Sweet Embrace S. winner Burning Sands (Marju {Ire}) has her promising Miranda Park-bred daughter Shamadan (Tassort) in the Matthew Dunn stable; that 3-year-old an easy winner at debut and Randwick placed in a race not run to suit at her second start.

Fans of Tassort

Having already enjoyed that success with Tassort, Miranda Park again use that Newgate Farm up-and-comer this spring with the well-related and talented (four wins from 10 starts) Moonee Valley winner Destiny Diamond (Raphael's Cat) booked in.

Bred by Miranda Park from the family of the triple Group 1 winner Humidor (NZ) (Teofilo {Ire}), she foaled a Kermadec (NZ) colt as her first foal last year and is in foal to Hellbent.

Gary likes the “speed on speed” nature of the Tassort match, also taking note of the crosses of Green Desert (USA) and Canny Lad whilst also happy with the mating physically.

“On type Destiny Diamond is quite similar to Tassort and I am pretty confident that we are going to get a good type.”

A type good enough to get into the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, which is how Miranda Park matings are planned, Gary explaining that “that is our criteria, a horse who we can get into that sale.”

Another mare that fits in that regard is the two-time winner Highfalutin Gal (All Too Hard) who has produced two impressive colts for the farm, a Hanseatic last spring and just recently a Rich Enuff.

Brazen Beau a good option

The daughter of the dual Listed winner Marquardt (NZ) (Shamardal {USA}) visits Darley's Brazen Beau this year.

“He is a nice commercial option, we think he is good value for a horse can really sire a quality performer and who has plenty of appeal at the sales.”

Another mating that Gary is excited about is Supriym Story (General Nediym) to Widden Victoria's Bruckner.

“We like to send our older mares to younger stallions and physically he is a really good match for her. She is quite a long mare with a good staying daughter by a Redoute's Choice horse and he is a very neat, beautifully conformed sprinting type from that sireline.”

Supriym Story's daughter was certainly good, Lasqueti Spirit (Beneteau) maintaining a big lead when recording an upset victory in the 2016 G1 VRC Oaks, upholding that form with an G1 ATC Oaks third and a gutsy second to Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G1 Chipping Norton S.

Missing last year to Shamus Award, Supriym Story foaled a Dundeel (NZ) colt last spring and Miranda Park has her 3-year-old Dizzy Heights (Headwater) in the same Lee and Cherie Curtis stable as Lasqueti Spirit.

Owning most of their mares outright as well as a few in partnership (keeping the controlling interests), Miranda Park also have around 60 mares owned by clients on the farm and have a busy spring ahead walking into local stallions and to the Hunter Valley.

“We have regular runs to Lovatsville, Woodside, Swettenham and Darley,” Gary said, noting that he is in a good position geographically take mares to and from with a minimum of fuss and not too much time on the road.

Table: Matings schedule for Miranda Park's broodmare band