Eilish Mac was no Sure Thing – well she was in one respect

The breeding game is littered with great ‘sub families’ which have literally sprung from nowhere. They start with one broodmare where often there was something bubbling under which was not apparent on the face of it.

They may have shown promise at home but gone unraced for myriad reasons, or simply not been good enough to race but possessed of a pedigree capable of producing well above expectations. Sometimes there is no explanation at all — just a ‘freak of nature’ or an exception to the rule.

Scuse Me was one of the best examples. She was by B G’s Bunny, a stallion who proved a real disappointment in New Zealand despite producing over 150 foals in a single Lantana Lodge season. Only 32 winners — a strike rate of 21 percent — emerged when a percentage in the 40s is considered reasonable. Most were one-win horses; few made an impact.
Yet Scuse Me, the first foal from an unraced Smooth Fella mare in Super Smooth, became one of the greatest pacing broodmares in modern times. Beneath the surface, however, her pedigree revealed hints of quality through Time Lag, Remit, and the noted Whitby family in WA.

Tabella Beth was another case. Her maternal line had achieved little beyond the occasional good trotter, but her sire Able Bye Bye carried powerful blood through Adioo Time — the Adios sister to Good Time — and the family extending to Extasy and Nedda. Though Able Bye Bye was only an average racehorse, he exceeded expectations as a sire and especially as a broodmare sire, producing 66 winners from roughly 120 foals.

Tabella Beth, also unheralded, would ignite one of the hottest pacing families in the Southern Hemisphere — culminating in champions like Lazarus.

Eilish Mac exceeded expectations

The latest Broodmare Excellence Award winner, Eilish Mac, fits the same mould. Her lone win came in a $2000 Novice Trot at Forbury Park, hardly the resume of a matriarch. Yet at stud, her first three foals — Harriet Hughes, Ella Powell (NZ Trotting Oaks), and Earl Of Mot (Breeders Crown 3YO) — were all top-class performers.
Earl Of Mot won 33 races and $536,000, predominantly in Victoria, while Harriet Hughes was arguably the most naturally gifted.

One could explain Harriet Hughes through Sundon, who elevated countless pedigrees, but Ella Powell and Earl Of Mot were by Earl, never a commercially fashionable stallion.
More curious still — Eilish Mac herself was the third in a line of mares who produced “surprise packets.”

The chain begins: Kimmer

Kimmer, by Light Mood, seemed to have little going for her on paper or racetrack. She traced to Thelma, and though related to Balgove, it was a distant connection. A half-sister, Flying Ailsa, later produced some good trotters including Game Captain, Africa, and Niamey — the latter another unraced mare who founded a family of her own.

Kimmer raced twice without threatening, yet she produced the champion trotter Tussle — a diminutive freak by Tuft who carved out a legendary career. Beyond Tussle, Kimmer produced little else, with nine foals by pacing sires and her last two by Roydon Boy, not noted for trotters.

But there was depth hiding in her pedigree:

- Light Mood was by Light Brigade from In The Mood, a top U Scott mare
- Kimmer was from Ailsa Craig, by U Scott from Sure Lady, by Quite Sure
- That made her 3×2 to U Scott and rich in Peter Volo–Star’s Pride blood.

Sure Thing — another surprise

One of Kimmer’s unheralded pacing-bred foals was Sure Thing, by Bachelor Hanover, who went unqualified.
Her first seven foals were by pacing sires and included two handy trotters by Out To Win — Sure Win and Sure Winner. Later, bred to trotting sires for Gary Allen, she produced the brilliant young filly Galleon’s Paradise, by Sundon.

In between, Sure Thing left a filly Shining Lady (by Out To Win) and a colt Galleon Lobell (by Nat Lobell). This is where Wellington’s Ivan McNicholl and trainer Craig Edmonds entered the story in the mid-1980s.

The Edmonds–McNicholl chapter

McNicholl first tasted success in a syndicate when Edmonds won at Tomoana with Close Up, a World Skipper gelding. Soon after, McNicholl was racing Shining Lady — initially without success. She debuted as a pacer at Hutt Park but disappeared for two years before re-emerging as a trotter.

McNicholl recalls only her frustrations:
“She would always gallop on the Hotel bend at Hutt Park… if it was something fixable Craig would have sorted it, but in the end we just gave up.”

Galleon Lobell, two years younger, had huge ability but was wildly erratic — “a real heartbreaker,” McNicholl says. When he trotted, he won; when he didn’t, he finished last. Edmonds thought enough of him to contest the 1986 NZ 2YO Trotting Stakes, where he finished third.

Years later, as a seven-year-old, Galleon Lobell was set for the 1991 Auckland Inter Dominions by Jack Carmichael. En route he bolted in at Hutt Park in track record time — giving McNicholl optimism — before disaster struck. The night before the heats, a suspensory injury ended his campaign.

The resulting betting story involving Fraggle Rock, Yankee Loch, and an $8357 trifecta only added to the lore.

The unstoppable Tussle

Meanwhile Tussle was building a record that became harness racing folklore. Bred by Dr Cliff Irvine, initially driven by him, and later partnered with Peter Jones, she amassed 38 wins and $562,000 — winning the Dominion, Rowe Cup, and the unforgettable 1987 Inter Dominion Grand Final.

She inspired McNicholl to persevere with breeding from Shining Lady, despite her racetrack woes.

From Shining Lady to Eilish Mac

Shining Lady’s first foal, Magic Man (by Roydon Boy), won four races. Her second, Shine On Me (by Gee Whiz II), became 2YO Trotter of the Year — a shock given his dam’s record.

Next came Eilish Mac — an even bigger surprise at stud. Her first three foals were stars, followed by the sale-topping Mickey Rochford (by Sundon) at $160,000, and a Love You colt topping that sale at $140,000 two years later.

Amore Stride (by Love You) became a Menangle Group 1 winner. Ella Powell produced Jaw D Nancy and Ellatine. Another descendant produced Nordic Reign (G1 Breeders Crown 2YO) and Travel Bug (18 wins, $188,000).

But the crown jewel remains Harriet Hughes. Brilliant from day one, she placed in the Trotting Oaks, NZ Derby, and Sires Stakes, and produced:

Harriet Of Mot (15 wins, $187,000)

Five Wise Men — the 2021 superstar (9 wins from 10 starts)

Muscles Galore sat between them, winning six, including one on Show Day.
Harriet Of Mot is now a prized broodmare, with foals by Tactical Landing and Bold Eagle.
Four Wise Woman, another daughter, was gifted by McNicholl to Aimee Edmonds in recognition of their long journey.

There will be no explaining away their future success. It all traces back — through the surprises and freakish turns — to Kimmer and the mare who started it all, Tussle.