Cover image courtesy of Newgate Farm
Blue-blooded filly Mac ‘N’ Cheese (Sebring) produced a breathtaking performance to overcome severe interference and score a runaway win in Saturday’s Listed Clare Lindop S. at Morphettville.
The Spendthrift Australia filly was knocked sideways at the top of the home straight, but regained her balance, pinned her ears back and went into overdrive. Ridden by Barend Vorster, she powered past the front-running Perceptive (Written Tycoon) and sprinted clear to score by 3l.
Mac 'N' Cheese as a yearling | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Mac ‘N’ Cheese now has three wins and two second-placings to her name in a seven-start career, and trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy are working towards the G1 Australasian Oaks on April 30.
“That was unreal,” Spendthrift Australia’s General Manager Garry Cuddy said. “Not many horses cop that level of interference and play any part in the rest of the race, let alone recover to win by that sort of margin. It was amazing.”
The third foal to race and third winner out of the stakes-winning mare Bonnie Mac (NZ) (Thorn Park), Mac ‘N’ Cheese is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Exceedance and Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Oxley Road (Exceed And Excel).
Garry Cuddy
Spendthrift Australia paid $300,000 to buy her from Newgate Farm’s draft at the 2020 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
“She’s a hugely valuable filly,” Cuddy said. “We bought her as a half-sister to Exceedance, which is something that can never be taken away from her, and everything after that was always going to be a bonus.
“You throw Oxley Road in there, and then her own level of ability as well, and it really makes it very sweet.”
"We bought her (Mac 'N' Cheese) as a half-sister to Exceedance, which is something that can never been taken away from her, and everything after that was always going to be a bonus." - Garry Cuddy
Spendthrift Australia shares ownership of Mac ‘N’ Cheese with MyRacehorse, the American micro-share syndicator that launched an Australian branch of its operation in September. Shares in Mac ‘N’ Cheese were made available for as little as $275.
“She was the first winner for MyRacehorse in Australia when she won her last start, and now she’s their first stakes winner – what a fantastic outcome for them,” Cuddy said.
“It was a great opportunity for MyRacehorse to get involved in this part of the world, and now they’re part of the success that this horse is having. It’s wonderful to have so many people along for the ride.
"It was a great opportunity for MyRacehorse to get involved in this part of the world, and now they’re part of the success that this horse (Mac 'N' Cheese) is having. It’s wonderful to have so many people along for the ride." - Garry Cuddy
“It seems that almost every time you run into someone and talk about horses, either they or someone they know has a share in Mac ‘N’ Cheese.
“I even bought a share for my 103-year-old great-grandmother, so she’s just had a stakes winner as well. It doesn’t get much better than that.”
Mac ‘N’ Cheese's success, along with Group 3 winner and G1 Blue Diamond fourth placegetter Sebonack (Capitalist), is particularly timely, with Spendthrift’s entire Australian operation on the market.
“When you’re trying to entice buyers, it certainly doesn’t hurt to be dangling carrots like Mac ‘N’ Cheese and Sebonack in front of them on the racetrack,” Cuddy said. “We’ve had a good little run since the turn of the year, which I guess is a little bittersweet at this point, but it is what it is. We’ve just got to keep our heads down and keep doing the very best that we can.”
