Caption: Million-dollar dog Mcinerney streaks away with the Chase final loot
WHEN Noel Mugavin and his son Jeremy booked into an inner-Sydney hotel on the night of the Million Dollar Chase final, they were pleasantly surprised to find the room number was 230.
It is the sort of omen superstitious racing people look for. Noel’s property number back in Warrnambool where he rears all his pups is 230.
Later that night Noel and Jeremy cheered home Mcinerney (Fernando Bale-Born Ali) to win the Million Dollar Chase.
Noel says, when Mcinerney settled in second going past the winning post the first time, he got out of his seat in the grandstand to cheer him home.
He admits it is the very first time in decades of greyhound racing involvement he has done that.
But, while all that adds up to a million-dollar pay day, the real Mcinerney story starts way back in July 2000 with the birth of Born Lucky the third mother of the MDC hero.
Noel’s brother Kevin gave him the former star race bitch Magic Gairn, a finalist in the G1 National Futurity, from which to breed a litter.
Noel put her to Big Ginger Boy.
“I had to go to Geelong on the day Magic Gairn was due to have her pups,” Noel said. “My wife Leanne had to whelp the bitch.”
By the time Noel arrived back in Warrnambool, it had been 12 hours since Magic Gairn had delivered what was thought to be her final pup of seven.
“I just felt there was another pup there and took her along to my local vet,” Noel said. “The vet said straight away if there was a pup undelivered it would be dead for sure.”
It wasn’t.
Noel and the vet delivered the pup, a bitch that was healthy … and alive.
Noel just had to name her Born Lucky and she went to the races 59 times for 13 wins, eight seconds and 11 thirds; her wins coming at Warrnambool, Ballarat and Horsham and she was placed at The Meadows.
Born Lucky is the third mother of Million Dollar Chase winner Mcinerney.
Mcinerney traces directly along his tail female line to that grand foundation bitch Dark Debutante, a classy Melbourne stayer whose daughter Dark Harlequin (by Tempix) was a top-class stayer as well.
Another daughter Val Matese (by Temlee) was a top-class sprinter and her daughter Currency Lass became the mother of Golden Currency who shared in the very first Topgun and became a fine sire.
Noel Mugavin was once talking to a fellow Victorian breeder who promptly informed him “your line can run out”.
“Well, that might be so for some lines, but here we are eight generations on and the line is producing a Million Dollar Chase winner,” he said.
Noel bred his former G1 WA Galaxy winner Born Ali (Velocette-Born Princess by Whisky Assassin) to Fernando Bale for a second time to get Mcinerney.
He is just one of 10 Group winners, placegetters or finalists from Born Ali’s four litters, by Barcia Bale, My Bro Fabio and two to Fernando Bale.
“And it is a line that keeps improving with age and racing,” he said.
“Born Ali had 95 starts.”
While Mcinerney took the limelight on MDC night, just as popular was the win by Fire Legend in the Masters Meteor.
Fire Legend is a virtual brother to Mcinerney. Both are by Fernando Bale.
Their dams trace to the September 1977 litter sisters Soextra (9th dam of Fire Legend) and Val Matese (7th dam of Mcinerney). They were Temlee-Dark Debutante.
But, what is even more interesting is that along the way this damline has been reinforced within itself.
Sydney Fire (4th dam of Fire Legend) is 2×3 to Jenny’s Law and her sister Tangress (Tangairn-Extra Progress), while Born Ali is in-bred 1×2 to virtual brother and sister Velocette and Born Lucky.
