Andrew Caulfield, November 8, 2005– P EDIGREE INSIGHTS Perhaps it is simply harder for females to conquer the stronger, heavier males on dirt than it is on turf, BY ANDREW CAULFIELD because European racing abounds with examples of the female of the species proving deadlier than the male. EMIRATES -G1, A$5,000,000, Some of these females, such as Miesque, Ridgewood Flemington (Melbourne), 11-1, 2mT, 3yo/up, 3:19.17, Pearl, , Pebbles and Miss Alleged, have dead. travelled to the U.S. to prove their point against the 1--MAKYBE DIVA (GB), 128, m, 7, by (Ire) males on Breeders’ Cup Day. 1st Dam: Tugela, by It has been a similar story in some of Australia’s most 2nd Dam: Rambushka, by competitive events, such as the Melbourne Cup over 3rd Dam: Katsura, by two miles and the W.S. Cox Plate over 1¼ miles. Both O-Emily Krstina (Aust) Pty Ltd Syndicate; B-Emily of these Group 1 races have been won by the Krstina (Aust) Pty Ltd; T-; J-; magnificent Makybe Diva, who was taking the A$3,000,000. Lifetime Record: 36-15-4-3, Melbourne Cup for a third time when she successfully A$14,426,685. carried co-top weight of 128 pounds a week ago. The Click for the Racing Post chart or the free brisnet.com Cup has also been won by , Jezabeel and Let’s catalogue-style pedigree. For a video replay, click: Elope in the last 15 years, while other recent female modem or broadband. winners of the Cox Plate are the remarkable Despite the victories of Genuine Risk (1999 and 2000) and Dane Ripper. and , and three winning females in the Makybe Diva’s glorious swansong boosted her Breeders’ Cup Sprint, a lot of soul searching is normally earnings to more than A$14,000,000. With an Aussie required before any modern-day American trainer will dollar currently being about 0.73 of a U.S. dollar, even consider tackling the males with a top-class filly. her earnings convert to more than $10,000,000, a Perhaps the explanation is that prize money is so strong figure which casts a huge shadow over the bankrolls in America’s filly and mare events that there isn’t any by America’s finest distaffers, such as Azeri, need for them to step outside their own division. Only Ashado and Spain. now and again do we see the likes of Azeri, Serena’s Song and Lady’s Secret attempt to confirm their superstar status by conquering the males. Caulfield cont. Yet the British-bred Makybe Diva was led out unsold Bearing in mind that the first five mares in Makybe at 19,000gns when she was offered as a weanling at Diva’s bottom line are by Riverman, Roberto, Northern ’ December Sale of 1999, even though she Dancer, Vaguely Noble and Amerigo (San Juan was bred to a similar pattern to the 1994 Derby winner Capistrano H. over 1¾ miles), it isn’t surprising that . Both were sired by members of the Makybe Diva has proved capable of winning Group 1 male line from daughters of Riverman. races from 1¼ miles to two miles. In true Australian Makybe Diva is the first foal of Tugela, who was fashion, she even dropped back to seven furlongs to culled by Juddmonte for 21,000gns after showing little win earlier this year. Let’s hope that her broodmare sign of ability in two juvenile starts in 1997. Tugela career proves as richly rewarding as her time on the lacked size and substance, so it made good sense to track. send her to Desert King in her first season. While of only medium height, Desert King was described by Makybe Diva (GB), 1999 Northern Dancer Timeform as “a sturdy, good-quartered colt who Danzig Pas de Nom generally took the eye” and he possessed the masculinity one expects to find in a son of Danehill. Razyana Springing Adieu Makybe Diva’s family was introduced into the Desert King (Ire) Northern Dancer Juddmonte stud book with the purchase of her third Special dam Katsura, a talented Windfields-bred daughter of Sabaah Northern Dancer. As Desert King is inbred 3x3 to the Dish Dash powerful and muscular Northern Dancer, Makybe Diva Loose Cover is inbred 4x4x4 to the world’s most famous stallion. Katsura, a Group-placed winner at up to 1½ miles, Riverman Prince John was mated to a variety of good-class stallions. Tugela River Lady Interestingly, none of her three foals by Riverman was Race Record Nile Lady 4Fls, 1Ch, 1GSW Hail to Reason much good, but a visit to the Derby winner Roberto Roberto Rambushka Bramalea resulted in Rambushka, Makybe Diva’s very useful Race Record second dam. Rambushka won at Listed level at around 8Fls, 3 wnrs Katsura Northern Dancer a mile and a quarter, but she too lacked a bit of size 12Fls, 1SW Noble Fancy and proved so disappointing as a broodmare that she was consigned to the sales as an 11-year-old, when she was sent to Japan. Japan was also the destination for Desert King after he had stood four seasons in Ireland. He has enjoyed sporadic success with those Irish crops, notably siring (G1 ), (G1 Moyglare Stud S.), Darsalam (a Group 1 winner in Germany), Makybe Diva and a handful of Group 3 winners. Makybe Diva’s efforts have earned him a return to Australia this year after a gap of two years, and he has two other Australian Group 1 winners to his credit in 2005, in the miler and the Queensland Derby winner Lachlan River. All four of the Group 1 winners from his Irish crops have won over at least 1½ miles, with Mr Dinos stretching his stamina to 2½ miles. This suggests that the stamina elements in Desert King’s pedigree have overwhelmed the speed associated with his sire Danehill, who reverted to sprinting after seeming to find a mile a little too far. It isn’t hard to see how this has happened. Although Desert King was fast enough to win the G1 National S. over seven furlongs at two and the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas over a mile at three, he didn’t possess a quick change of gears. In fact, he seemed rather lazy and was normally running on strongly at the end of his races, including when he won the . Perhaps the most influential ancestor in his pedigree was his second dam Dish Dash. This winner of the G2 Ribblesdale S. over 1½ miles was by Bustino, a St Leger winner who numbered an Ascot Gold Cup winner among his best representatives.