Rahotu couple Philly and Paddy Mullin consider themselves new to the breeding game, and are absolutely delighted to have bred their first stakes winner Cooga Doon (Makfi[GB]-Monachee).
The three-year-old son of Makfi was an impressive winner in the recent Listed HS Dyke Wanganui Guineas over 1350metres, beating his nearest rival Sai Fah(Rios-Rongonui) by nine lengths with a further four lengths back to Blue Rata Eligius (Rios – Blue Rata), at only his second start.
“He’s a beauty isn’t he,” enthused Paddy Mullin following the win, “to be honest he looks like he has got bigger things to come.”
Cooga Doon was purchased privately by Gavin O’Dea, after he failed to reach his reserve at the 2018 Karaka Sale where he was in Book One and placed him in the care of Fraser Auret. He is the second foal from the O’Reilly mare Monachee that the Mullins purchased as a yearling.
“I bought the mare as a yearling at Karaka in 2008,” Mullin said.
“I had a couple of mares a Volksraad(IRE) and a Centaine(AUS) and I was looking for an O’Reilly mare and went through the pedigrees and she popped up in my scope. I liked the look of her, and I got Alan Sharrock to look at her as well and he bought her for me for $135,000 from Avondale Stud.
“She was placed in her first two starts and won at her third. She ran out of luck, so I sent her to Karen Parsons in the South Island where she went on to win seven races including the Listed Dunedin God Cup. To be honest she really blitzed them in that race a bit like Cooga Doon did, she left them in her wake.
“Then we started breeding from her. Her first foal was a filly by Reliable Man(GB) and known as Sister Monica, I race her with a group of friends and we have sent her to Karen Parsons as well.
“Cooga Doon is the second foal, and it was Adrian Stanley from Woburn Farm who talked me into mating her with Makfi(GB), Monachee is not a heavy boned mare, but I like to match up strength and type. I do study pedigrees and I plug into Goldmine to see how they match up. I think matching the mare in the type and strength is important. Monachee is only 15.2 but she throws good looking foals.
“A wiseman once told me an ounce of blood is worth a ton of bone, so I have followed that advice.”
Monachee has a Reliable Man(GB) colt who is going to the Ready To Run sale in November, through the Woburn Farm draft, and according to Mullin an outstanding Tivaci filly at his farm at Rahotu.
She is in foal to Preferment and due at the end of the month so sometime very soon a decision will have to be made on her next mating. Now she is the dam of a stakes winner a few stud masters have been calling the Mullins promoting their stallions chasing a booking.
“I will have to decide where I am going to send her very soon, but my thinking has changed a little now she is the dam of a stakes winner,” added Mullin.
The Mullins certainly have a lot of options with Monachee considering she is an O’Reilly mare and descends from a good winning family. She is a sister to Ciara who won four races and was placed third in the Gr.2 ARC Rich Hill Mile and Gr.2 Gasmate Stakes at Te Rapa.
Her dam Kincia was placed and left five winners from seven foals including Monachee and Ciara. She in turn is a half-sister to Oaks Dream who won three races and was placed in the Gr.3 Sires’ Produce Stakes in South Australia and the Listed VATC Tranquil Star Stakes, being out of the Sound Reason(CAN) mare Cia who won five races. Her full brother Wage Freeze (ex Gynarchy) won seven races in Australia and the USA including the Listed VRC Carbine Club Stakes.
One of Kincia’s last foals is the promising Zed gelding in Alan Sharrock’s stable Waisake who has had eight starts to date for two wins, and Mullin is proud to have a share in him.
Currently Monachee is the only broodmare that the Mullins are breeding from after losing their Volksraad(IRE) mare MacInally who produced Rikki Tikki Tavi (Tavistock) a handy race mare who has won five races and has been stakes placed in the Listed NZB Finance Sprint.
“Until Cooga Doon came along Rikki Tikki Tavi was the best we have bred, as we are probably quite new to the game,” said Mullin whose interest in breeding was nurtured by a couple of Taranaki racing stalwarts.
“I always had an interest in racing, and my great mate and brother-in-law the late Boof Fleming was a trainer and we followed his horses. As well early on Philly and I were sharemilkers for Dan Myers and of course he always had horses and encouraged us. Now we have our own dairy farm at Rahotu and space for a good mare or two.
“At this stage Philly and I are happy to keep the fillies and sell the colts and build our broodmare band from there and hopefully breed another stakes winner or two.” - Michelle Saba
