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<h1 class="basic-page-header__heading">Magnificent McGaw makes dreams come true</h1>
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<h3>Racing Victoria Staff</h3>
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<div class="author-card__article-date">Apr 02, 2025</div>
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They say that timing is everything, and the timing of the phone call Dean Chambers put in to McGaw&rsquo;s co-trainer David Browne led to one of the best decisions he has ever made.
Browne had just completed a trackwork gallop on McGaw when he received the call from Chambers who, together with his five friends in the G&rsquo;Out Syndicate, was on the hunt for a moderately priced racehorse to invest in and have some fun with.&nbsp;
Chambers, who formed the syndicate in 2021, had heard through word of mouth that Browne and his wife Emma-Lee were just the sort of trainers they were looking for &ndash; open and honest folk who were easy to deal with and could get the best out of the horses under their care.
One of the syndicate members had also shared a few refreshments with the Brownes at the Hanging Rock Cup meeting the year before and had been taken with their down-to-earth and approachable manner, so a unanimous decision was reached that the Sparta Racing stable was the right fit for the group.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
As the syndicate manager, Chambers was tasked with making contact with the stable to run a list on their available horses.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The horse I just rode might be a bit special,&rdquo; Browne told him, referring to the I Am Immortal juvenile they had purchased for a mere $14,000 at the 2024 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
How prescient those words proved to be, as McGaw made a dynamic debut at Pakenham at the end of January, romping to victory by three-and-a-half lengths.&nbsp;
Unfortunately, Chambers&rsquo; six-strong syndicate &ndash; who had taken out a 10 per cent share in McGaw &ndash; weren&rsquo;t there to witness the win in the flesh as heavy traffic on the West Gate Freeway meant they were unable to reach the track in time, and so were diverted to a pub in Port Melbourne instead.&nbsp;
If that win was impressive, the best was certainly yet to come six weeks later at Caulfield, where McGaw &ndash; affectionately labelled a &ldquo;long-legged dork&rdquo; by Emma-Lee &ndash; made a mockery of his price tag and his dorky demeanour with a fairy-tale win in the $1m VOBIS Platinum Showdown (1200m).&nbsp;
&ldquo;The race fell on my birthday, so it&rsquo;s fair to say it was one of the better birthdays I&rsquo;ve ever had,&rdquo; said Campbell.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just taken delivery of my framed photo, so that will be a permanent reminder of an absolutely amazing day. We had a few drinks at the track after the race, then took the celebrations back to our place and from memory the party went on until around two in the morning. So it was a big day, and I haven&rsquo;t stopped smiling since.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I got to know the other guys from when all our kids were at primary school together. We decided to form a syndicate, and we went in on a couple of horses but didn&rsquo;t have much luck. We had the money sitting in our account and someone had recommended David and Emma-Lee to us. So I gave David a call, and the rest is history. They&rsquo;ve been wonderful to deal with, and obviously the horse has taken us on an unbelievable ride so far.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;
Inevitably, offers have since flooded in for McGaw, both from both home and overseas; but Chambers &amp; Co. are determined to resist the temptation to cash in their shares on a horse who, according to his trainers, should be even better once he has reached full maturity as a three-year-old and beyond.
&ldquo;I think the first offer we received after he won his Maiden was $600,000, which we rejected,&rdquo; said Chambers.&nbsp;
&ldquo;They then came back with a bigger offer, but that was knocked back again. We just want to enjoy the journey with him. If we&rsquo;d sold him after his win at Pakenham we wouldn&rsquo;t have had that experience in The Showdown, and you can&rsquo;t put a price on a day like that.&nbsp;
&ldquo;So we&rsquo;re happy to keep racing him and hopefully we can have a lot more fun with him. David and Emma-Lee have been very shrewd with him, they&rsquo;ve only given him two runs as a two-year-old because they think we won&rsquo;t see the best of him until next season, when he could get out to a mile. So that&rsquo;s pretty exciting. &nbsp;
&ldquo;This has been our syndicate&rsquo;s first horse with the team, and I&rsquo;m sure we&rsquo;ll roll into a few more in the future. We&rsquo;re all involved in the Point Cook Centrals footy club, out in the western suburbs of Melbourne. I coach one of the teams and I tipped all the boys into McGaw in The Showdown, so we had a lot of people riding him home and I was pretty popular that day!&rdquo;
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Sparta Racing

Magnificent McGaw makes dreams come true

Emma-Lee Browne

THE WINNERS KEEP MARCHING ON!
 
Following on from a great start to 2025 - seven winners in the first couple of months including a Flemington success for Garnacho and the Camperdown Cup for Rhinoceros - March was another big month for the stable.
And wow, April has kicked off in stunning style with a double at Caulfield on Saturday! We are very proud of the team effort that goes into the preparation of every horse - one which has seen us running at a fantastic 24% strike rate from our last 50 runners.
Let's take a look back at our big moments!
 
THE MARVELLOUS MCGAW
 
This leggy fellow really caught our eye at last year's Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale where we were delighted to secure him for just $14,000. Impressing us from the start, he was - on the back of good jump-out form - well fancied at his Pakenham debut in late January and he could not have been more impressive racing away to a soft 3 1/2 length victory.
Barrier 13 didn't look good for the son of I Am Immortal when he rose quickly in class to tackle the VOBIS Showdown at Caulfield but, after doing a bit of early work, he was able to get to the front at the 600m. Sharing the lead from before the turn, he had a battle with Befuddle in the run home - our boy showing so much heart and determination putting his nose out in front when it counted.
And how exciting was that?! <a href="http://racing.com/">Racing.com</a>'s camera crew certainly thought so as they filmed us jumping and screeching with utter delight as our boy crossed the line! Emma-Lee was almost lost for words after the race but did manage to compose herself when interviewed, noting that "it really is a land of opportunity when you buy one for $14,000 and you win a race like this!"
Jockey Damian Lane, who decided not to head to Sydney in order to stick with McGaw is impressed by him - "he is really raw, he is really not sure still, he's a bit of a big kid!" "So to be able to do what he is doing - well hopefully it means that with natural progression he can improve and we can be here in the spring." Lane was delighted to win for our ownership group - "that's everything good about racing a horse isn't it? A cheap buy for great people - it's what dreams are made of."
McGaw is now in the paddock as we contemplate a possible crack at the Gr.1 Caulfield Guineas.
BREEDING TRIVIA: McGaw hails from the same family as his great grandsire Invincible Spirit; bred on a 5 X 5 cross of his own fifth dam Eljazzi. <img src="https://www.prism.horse/api/public/image/115d50a051034e42a266ca725dabb605.jpg" alt="" height="239" />
 
A ZEBRA AND A RHINOCEROS QUINELLA THE BAIRNSDALE CUP!
 
Winning a country cup is always a treat but a one/two finish? Well that was just so exciting! And we did that with two stable favourites, the popular grey Le Zebra gamely holding off a challenge from another of our much loved boys in Rhinoceros.
It was a fourth career win for Le Zebra who rode a strong pace and just kept going with jockey Teo Nugent - who was having his first ride for us - giving him what David described as "a peach of a ride." "He gave me a beautiful run in transit," Teo said. "He travelled well and the last 50m and through the line was his best work."
"That was a great thrill," David said, "he is a quality horse who can still do a bit wrong, he will continue to improve."
By Galileo's high class son Rip Van Winkle, Le Zebra was a NZ$60,000 purchase at the 2022 Karaka Yearling Sale. The winner of over $400,000, he is a half-brother to another of our recent winners in Bifrost. Ben Kwok bred both horses and remains in the ownership of Le Zebra. <img src="https://www.prism.horse/api/public/image/8f1b8f94b18e47b8943e7a0bc0b5f6d4.jpg" alt="" height="208" /> 
 
RHINOCEROS HOLDS UP THE FORM!
Rhinoceros took his great run in the Bairnsdale Cup to Caulfield on Saturday, the wonderful six-year-old doing so well dropping back from a mile to 1400 to record a soft one length victory in the last race on the card, the Robert Taranto Handicap.
The second leg of a winning double with the Derby bound Statuario saluting earlier in the day, Rhinoceros ensured that everyone would have a great Saturday night! &ldquo;He is my oldest daughter Chloe&rsquo;s favourite horse,&rdquo; Emma-Lee said, &ldquo;and she has booked a boat for her 19th birthday tonight. It is going to be a great night!&rdquo;
Any day Rhinoceros wins is a good one - he is definitely a favourite with many! &ldquo;I love him so much, I might have to get a Rhino tattoo now,&rdquo; Emma-Lee laughed. &ldquo;He is a gem, a horse who just keeps giving.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He has been up for a long time (kicking off this campaign in October) and I keep wondering when he is going to be ready to go out - but he is just loving his life, he is a marvel!&rdquo;
Dean Yendall was impressed with Rhinoceros&rsquo; effort under the steadier of 59kg (conceding the runner up 1&frac12; kg). &ldquo;I thought during the race that he was travelling well and when I asked for an effort he started to get mobile - and when I asked for a really good effort he obliged and attacked the line strongly.&rdquo;
Rhinoceros is half-brother to the stakes placed Crickets Chirping out of a three time winning daughter of the dual Listed winner Ticklish who also produced our Gr.3 Sandown Stakes winner Elephant. <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://www.prism.horse/api/public/image/690b074142094efeaad0e782e5320daa.jpg" alt="" height="227" /> 
BIFROST - KING OF THE STABLE!
Just four days after our Showdown success with McGaw we were back in the winner's circle with Le Zebra's tough half-brother Bifrost finding his best form at only his second run back from a spell.
Not in the best part of the track when a game first up second at Pakenham, Bifrost did a great job recording the sixth win of his 38 start career, one which has also seen him figure in the placings on six occasions. A $40,000 Karaka purchase who has earned over $215,000 for his happy owners, Bifrost was the stable's first winner when coming over from New Zealand - so he has a special place in our hearts!
"We love him heaps," Emma-Lee enthused. "He is always a trier and he has been with us for a long time - he thinks he is king of the stable!"
Jockey Jett Stanley did a great job with Bifrost who can over-race at times, having him in a beautiful spot throughout. "He did everything right today and got around the corner beautifully," Jett reported.
BREEDING TRIVIA: we've got to go back a bit in time here but Le Zebra and Bifrost have something in common with our rising star McGaw... they are all descendants of the wonderful matriarch Gibside Fairy who was foaled way back in 1811! <img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://www.prism.horse/api/public/image/3c036997730d4f44aed7147d1d685d17.jpg" alt="" height="163" />
 
OUR ROYAL GIRL BASILINNA
How wonderful it has been to have the very talented mare Basilinna back to her best this time in, the talented bay not coming up last spring having shown so much as a three-year-old with her gutsy third in the Gr.1 VRC Oaks won by Zardozi.
She took a little while to get over that campaign but thanks to the lush grass in our paddocks and a nice break she was able to thrive and David was confident that she'd run a great race when she resumed in the Yarra Valley Cup held at Moonee Valley. "He was coming back from riding her with a grin from ear to ear!" Emma-Lee said, excited to see her win her first start since November. "It was a fantastic ride by Dean Yendall - I thought we were in world of trouble when she was held up at the turn."
But once clear Basilinna showed her good turn of foot and her will to win... and it looks like a good campaign is ahead for the mare who can bounce back having had no luck at all in Saturday&rsquo;s Gr.3 Easter Cup at Caulfield.
Basilinna is a rather special horse for the stable, being a home-bred out of the Gr.3 placed mare So Royal.
NAMING TRIVIA: Basilinna is an ancient Greek title meaning "Queen" and she is so very well named. Her sire is Staphanos (Greek for "crown") and her dam So Royal is by Shino King. All very royal!
Basilinna is one of several promising staying types in the stable with last spring's Gr.1 VRC Derby runner-up Scary showing plenty of talent, currently spelling having picked up a virus since his latest terrific run, a fast finishing fifth in the Gr.2 Autumn Classic. <img src="https://www.prism.horse/api/public/image/e0aed471d1db44af9cbafd38389076f8.webp" alt="" height="222" />
 Meanwhile we have another Derby horse!
STUNNING STATUARIO&nbsp;
Going right on with it after running such an eye-catching third in the Gr.2 Alister Clark Stakes at Moonee Valley last month, Statuario proved a class above his rivals in Saturday&rsquo;s Listed Galilee Series Final at Caulfield - the first leg of a memorable double for the stable.
We are still to decide whether the talented grey presses on to Adelaide or if we freshen him for a tilt at the Gr.1 Queensland Derby but gee it&rsquo;s a fun decision to have to make!
Another bargain buy - purchased for just $18,000 by his very happy managing part owners Toward Reward Thoroughbreds at the 2023 Inglis VOBIS Gold Yearling Sale, Statuario impressed us with his tough performance and the way in which he raced.
&ldquo;It was a good ride by John Allen who had him in the right spot, he just went to sleep and relaxed - he probably hit the lead a little early and started floating around.&rdquo; &ldquo;He is taking a while to learn how to put them away as you can see from his first wins at Cranbourne so I was a little bit concerned when he got left out alone so I could not be more happy with that&rdquo; he said of the horse&rsquo;s impressive 2&frac14; length winning margin.
With Statuario racing over the trip for the first time, it was going to be a test of his stamina, one he passed with flying colours! &ldquo;He certainly ticked the 2400m box,&rdquo; John Allen said, &ldquo;he quickened up well and put them away.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He relaxed very well - he was the best horse in the race.&rdquo;
Bred by Bowness Stud, home to his Gr.1 Rosehill Guineas winning sire D&rsquo;Argento (son of the great So You Think), Statuario is out of the four time winning Dash For Cash mare Miss Entice, a full sister to the Listed Cranbourne Cup winner Boom &lsquo;N&rsquo; Zoom.
BREEDING TRIVIA: Statuario is a descendant of one of the most prolific broodmares of all time, the famed matriarch Eulogy - member of the New Zealand Racing Hall Of Fame. <img src="https://www.prism.horse/api/public/image/51f9afa40aac41a59cf0f6aba37a0ecc.jpg" alt="" height="285" />
 
KING'S LEGACY COLT IMPRESSES AS HE BREAKS IN NICELY
 
What an encouraging start the high class galloper King's Legacy has made to his stud career, the regally bred son of the great Redoute's Choice currently the sixth leading first season sire by winners with black-type performers in Australia and New Zealand.
Four members of King's Legacy's debut crop are winners and there is no doubt that his record is just going to get better and better as his progeny mature.
A dual Gr.1 winner seen at his brilliant best taking out two legs of the Sydney juvenile Triple Crown - the ATC Sires Produce Stakes and the ATC Champagne Stakes - King's Legacy hails from a renowned stallion family, able to boast Not A Single Doubt and Snippets amongst his relations.
We are already excited by our lovely King's Legacy colt - he is nearly finished being broken in and we could not be happier with him; this is a really nice horse! You can view his progress in the attached video.
Purchased at this year's Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, the BOBS and VOBIS Silver eligible colt is a son of the well related All American mare Tennessee Diamond whose dam Brightcut by the great Octagonal produced the Listed winner Instalment,
Brightcut is a half-sister to the Magic Millions 2Y0 Classic winner Mirror Mirror, dam of the stakes winners No Looking Back and Comrade Rosa.
This is an outstanding local family, one which has as its matriarch the 1945 Melbourne Cup winner Rainbird - ancestress of the big race winners Malaguerra, Laisserfaire, Personal, Allez Wonder, Aloha, Lone Rock, Snitzerland, Tivaci and Cool Aza Beel as well as the classy stallion Centaine and all those very fast "Tennessee" horses.
Tennessee Diamond is a daughter of the Gr.1 Emirates Stakes winner All American (conqueror of So You Think) who has made an outstanding start to his career as a broodmare sire - his daughters already producing four stakes winners (amongst the first 55 winners) including the Japanese star Liberty Island and fellow Gr.1 winner Dark Destroyer.
This Redoute's Choice/Red Ransom cross is going great guns... 38 stakes winners with eight Gr.1 horses including Sunlight, Estijaab, Return To Conquer and Trapeze Artist. And it's hard not to also be impressed by the success of the Redoute's Choice/Zabeel cross this colt is also bred on - one which has been so well represented by 116 stakes winners; 21 Gr.1 winners including the recent Blue Diamond Stakes winner Devil Night.
Boasting crosses of the great stallions Mr Prospector, Nijinsky, Nashua and Sir Ivor, this exciting colt is also line-bred to the wonderful mare Flower Bowl via her son His Majesty and grandson Whiskey Road.
And that's another high achieving cross... the 100 stakes winners produced by it including 12 Gr.1 winners of which the star mare Verry Elleegant is one.&nbsp;
 
Shares will go quickly in this great value colt so be sure to get in touch. He could be our next McGaw! <img src="https://www.prism.horse/api/public/image/dd7695389257462daaca974ea56cc7d8.jpg" alt="" height="241" />

Stable Update

March News - Basilinna Takes on the boys! Cool Aza Beel Colt Completes Breaking in

We had a busy few days searching the Inglis Oaklands Complex for the horses that stood out to us and we really wanted to have join our stable! It was great buying and not only did we find one, we managed to walk away with three which was very exciting and they will make great additions to the three yearlings we already have secured from Magics and NZ. The horses were very well presented and the horses we found really stood out as athletic running types! All three will be heading to the breakers very shortly and we look forward to seeing them under saddle and starting the early education. Make sure to check out our Horses available page to see what we have added to our stable!!

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Win number 20 for the Season!

Off to NZ!

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Sparta Racing | Sparta Racing News

Magnificent McGaw makes dreams come true

Stable Update

March News - Basilinna Takes on the boys! Cool Aza Beel Colt Completes Breaking in

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Win number 20 for the Season!

Off to NZ!

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