Elvira Bromac, a Badlands Hanover mare bought from the Trading Ring for a paltry $2,200 about 15 years ago, is proving a worthwhile investment for a group of mates from Melbourne’s western suburbs.
The New Zealand bred mare won three of her eight starts including two at Globe Derby Park before going onto the market.
“She had a lot of ability but unfortunately broke down. We bought her to breed from,” Charles Merola, who, along with brother Anthony and friend Ross Giampiccolo, comprise the Charantoss Racing Syndicate, said.
Elvira Bromac has left four winners from only four foals of racing age.
Her first foal, Our Prima Regal, figures as the dam of last Saturday’s impressive Melton winner Pesci.
“She was the result of a free service to the stallion Stonebridge Regal,” Charles said.
“Vito Vito, a horse owned by my dad Rob, Emmy Mazzetti, Sam Godino, John Doherty, John Hawke and Elio Valparto and trained by Lance Justice, won the Hamilton Pacing Cup in 2011 and part of the prize was the stallion service,” Charles related.
“Our Prima Regal was only a little mare that had a massive heart and was a running machine.
“The other guys in the syndicate reckoned that Our Prima Regal was too small to breed from but I managed to convince them to breed her.”
Sent to the court of Sunshine Beach, Our Prima Regal produced Pesci as her first foal.
The seven-year-old entire, raced and trained by the McNaulty family from St Arnaud, has now notched 12 successes with 21 placings from 55 starts for $96,703 in stakes.
The pint-sized pacer is named after popular Italian-American actor Joe Pesci.
“He’s only a little fella and we’re all Italian, hence the name,” Charles said.
Merola said that Hashtag, a winner of almost $200,000, is the best horse the group has bred and raced.
“He was trained by the McNaulty’s at the end of his career and they really looked after him. We have got a good relationship with them. We like supporting the grassroots people because that’s what we are at the end of the day.”
Since producing Pesci in 2018, Our Prima Regal has left the deceased Our Eyes Emoji and a two-year-old McWicked colt which is showing promise with Marong horseman Trevor Patching.
“We’ve got nearly a 100 percent strike rate as breeders,” Charles stated. “Everything that we’ve bred except one has won.”
- Mesmerizing, a mare owned by the Caldow family, left winners in two States on Saturday night in Messerati, who took out the Temora Pacing Cup, and Magnetize, a winner at Globe Derby
- Fleetwood Rock, the winner of the New Norfolk Cup at Hobart, was bred by nonagenarian Goulburn Valley identity Helen Head
- The Rochester-based Pangrazio family bred important winners at Melton and Hamilton last weekend. They were the Bendigo Trotters Cup winner Jilliby Ballerini and Meadow Valley Star (Hamilton Trotters Cup)
