Pippie, who is trained by John and Chris Meagher, has established herself as not only one of the best sprinting mares in Australia, having added last Friday's G1 Moir S. to her victory in the G1 Oakleigh Plate earlier this year, but also one of the most valuable broodmare prospects in the country.
Previous mares to have won the Moir, such as Viddora (I Am Invincible), Samaready (More Than Ready {USA}) and Virage De Fortune (Anabaa {USA}) have all subsequently sold in the seven figures as broodmares, and with that in mind, Heran Racing has some decisions to make on what they would like to do with Pippie long term.
"It’s certainly a race that has put mares in the spotlight," Glenn Heran told TDN AusNZ.
"We haven't decided what we will do with her at this stage. She has only been lightly raced, so has still got some more upside in her. She hasn't had a fault all the way through.
"She has only been lightly raced, so has still got some more upside in her. She hasn't had a fault all the way through. " - Glenn Heran
"I'd like to keep her as a broodmare proposition, but the market is going to dictate that. If someone came along and says 'I'll give you $3 million for her' then you'd have to think about it."
The Herans purchased Pippie for $60,000 as a yearling but have been breeders over the years from their 20-acre farm based at Maudsland in Queensland. The best horse they have bred has been the G3 George Moore S. winner Startsmeup (Danzero), who won over $750,000.
"He was my favourite horse. I put him in the sales and the highest bid I got for him was $65,000. I thought he'd get that in his first two starts and I wasn't far wrong. He ran fifth in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic. He was a good, strong Group horse for us," Heran said.
Startsmeup when racing
The broodmare band at Maudsland is down to just one at the moment, with about 10 horses in work with the Meaghers and a handful of yearlings coming through. Heran can't see that approach changing, even with the success that Pippie has brought to the family.
"We are just mucking around with breeding. We are just $2 each way punters. We’ve had horses for 30-40 years and it's great fun," he said.
"Pippie has been a huge buzz. It’s been great to watch. It's been a fantastic journey and we are really happy with how it has worked out."
A Classic call
That journey started when Heran was looking through the catalogue for the 2017 Inglis Classic Sale and came across a filly by Written Tycoon, offered by Eureka Stud, who had purchased her dam for $26,000 in foal a couple of years earlier.
"I said to the Meaghers to have a look at her. I have my own way of doing pedigrees and I liked the mating, I thought it had a stack of speed and a bit of stamina at one end as well. I thought she would work out okay. Everything we buy or breed, I'm keen to see a bit of a speed and a bit of stamina in horses," Heran said.
"Everything we buy or breed, I'm keen to see a bit of a speed and a bit of stamina in horses." - Glenn Heran
"She really looked the part on sale day. Chris was there to bid for her and he picked her up for $60,000."
Heran thought the price was reasonable and admits that on the surface Pippie's pedigree page was nothing to write home about.
Pippie as a yearling
She is out of the six-time winner Coupe Express (Ne Coupez Pas {USA}), a half-sister to the stakes-placed Timely Truce (Brief Truce {USA}), with G2 Hobartville S. winner Merry Ruler (The Carpenter {USA}) the only black-type winner on the page.
"It's not a strong pedigree at all but from the day she was sold, she always looked a million bucks," he said. "When she came to our farm at Maudsland, the girls up there said she was nice from the word go and she ran around the paddock like she owned it. She was always a really nice moving filly."
Backing up the family
Pippie made such an impression that Heran Racing, via Dan Meagher, was back to buy her younger half-sister by Spirit Of Boom, to be named Boom Express, the following year at the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale for $110,000.
Now a 4-year-old, she hasn't quite hit the heights of her older sister yet, having had four starts for three seconds, but Heran says she is starting to work it out.
"She goes around at the Gold Coast on Wednesday. I think she'll end up as an okay horse but she's a bit of a dummy and doesn't seem to have much between the ears. But she is coming around," he said.
It wasn't until early in her 4-year-old season that the penny dropped for Pippie and she was able to reel off a series of wins early last spring, including in the G3 Cockram S., at Cauflield, her first stakes win.
A superb first-up performer, she then caused a minor boilover when leading all the way to win the Oakleigh Plate in February. Fresh off a spell in the Moir on Friday, she again delivered an all-the-way win in the Moir for jockey Damian Lane.
"She's got the talent and she's got a stack of speed. Speed is the essence of any good horse. Even middle distance and staying horses need to have speed, especially at the finish of the race," Heran said.
While fresh is best for the flying mare, who has only had 12 career starts, Heran said she will likely back-up again this spring and look to add another Group 1 to her already impressive resume.
"We will head to the Manikato and we will see how she goes in that. If she wins another Group 1 she could be worth even more again," Heran said.
