Mark and Pauline O'Connor
Farm location
Auburn Road, Invercargill 8 ha
Plus 2.75 ha grazing - Moores Road.
How did you get started in breeding:
Pauline’s mother Myrtle McCarthy (nee Dalgety) is a long time breeder and Mark’s grandfather (JJ Burke) was a hobby trainer.
Name of first broodmare?
Bought Campeche (Talk About Class-Rollerball) in foal to Safely Kept in 1996
Is your priority to breed your horses for racing or to sell at the sales?
Targeting yearling sales
What do you consider was the best horse you’ve raced?
Fake Denario. Won Australasian Breeders Crown and New Zealand Sires Stakes Final as a 3 year old for Robert Famularo and trainer Steven Reid before being sold to America where he has lifetime best mile time of 1:48.4.
Best horse you have sold away from the yearling sales?
Madam Lawyer - (Holmes Hanover-Campeche) -sold as a 3 year old and has won 4 races in Australia. Eyes A Flashing (Totally Ruthless-Treasure Bond) - trained by Wayne Adams before being sold to Brian Meale and exported to America where she has won over 20 races.
Best priced yearling sold at the sales:
Cee Cee Denario (Christian Cullen - Flow Denario) sold for $65,000 to Steven Reid at the 2008 Premier Yearling Sales and Spero Denario (Presidential Ball - Dreamo Denario) sold for $21,000 at the 2007 Yearling Sales to Cran Dalgety (as agent).
Highest priced colt bred and sold:
Spero Denario
Highest priced filly bred and sold:
Fresco Denario (Artiscape-Campeche) 2006 Yearling Sales for $20,000
Best-performed colt sold:
Fake Denario
Best performed filly sold?
Fresco Denario
Is there any horse that you've brought back from the yearling sales and been thankful that you did?
Cut and Style (Presidential Ball - Stylish Arden)
Editors note - Cut and Style raced out of the Wayne Adams stable and won at the end of her three year old season at Ashburton.She has since been sold to clinets of Robert Dunns stable. Mark also has a share in maiden winner, Brigadier Scott who is leased from Graham Cooney.
Favourite all time stallions?
Fake Left - understandably. And we respect Falcon Seelster and his siring sons.
What new season sire are you most excited about?
We are supporting Real Desire, but also rate McArdle highly and he appears to have kicked off well in America.
How important do you feel it is to breed to a stallion that will possibly leave two year olds?
Very important from a yearling sale vendors perspective.
How important do you feel research is in choosing a stallion for your mare?
Assists the process to know which crosses have worked or may work. Also useful to know who the stallion competed against on the race track.
How important is the stallion size?
Critical to match up suitable size with intending broodmares. Buyers tend to shy away from small yearlings.
Do you prefer to see the stallion choices in the flesh?
Yes, if that is achieveable.
As a professional breeder, how often do you buy outside mares to broaden your breeding stock?
Have done so in the past and continue to assess options. Important to identify a mare's temperament from a reliable source. Also to breed to replace existing broodmares.
What current New Zealand breed would you like to buy into?
The Black Watch family continues to throw high class winners. Also Elsu’s maternal family is attractive.
What feeding plan do you follow when rearing your foals?
Primarily chaff and sweet feed mix with other additives as required (minerals, oil and milk powder) and hay. Hard feed during winter and then grass only during spring before going back to hard feed 12 weeks before sale.
If you breed primarily pacers, would you ever consider breeding trotters?
Not at this stage.
Was there a famous mare/horse that you had the opportunity to buy but didn’t- and how much did it sell for?
We bid on two mares from the same family at the an All Age sale in 1997 - both were good producers subsequently and strengthened overall family - Tammera and Tentative.
Editor's note - Tammera's (El Patron-Tiawana) best two progeny were Thrilling Franco (28-3-4-5) and OK Boyo (25-5-6-1) while Tentative (Holmes Hanover-Tammera) has left Tina Jaccka (26-4-4-5) and Unrehearsed (17-3-3-2)
What do you most enjoy about breeding horses?
Enjoy seeing the young horses mature and develop into potential race horses, also enjoy the buzz of seeing our own progeny perform on the race track.
What do you consider to be the most challenging aspect about breeding horses today?
Cost structure is still not providing a margin to the majority of yearling sale vendors - we also need to be attracting the next generation of race fans to get involved in the harness industry.
Breeding Stock list:
Campeche (16 yr old mare - Talk About Class - Rollerball) unraced
Best Progeny - Fake Denario (Fake Left) 124-32-20-10 $680,000- 1:48.4 USA (current World Champion Aged Gelding on a 1000 metre track), Fresco Denario (Artiscape) 12-2-2-3 $16,598 and Dreamo Denario (Soky’s Atom) 34-4-1-6 $21,025
Editor's note: Campeche's latest yearling Felix Denario (Elsu) sold for $18,000 at the PPG Wrightson New Zealand Premier Yearling Sales. He was bought by Southland trainer, Hamish Hunter.
Flow Denario (10yr old mare - Safely Kept - Campeche) 1 win
Progeny - 2 unqualified foals by Island Fantasy and Christian Cullen (Cee Cee Denario).
Editor's note: Cee Cee Denario was purchased by Steven Reid for $65,000 and has qualified.
Dreamo Denario (9yr old mare - Soky’s Atom - Campeche) 4 wins
Best Progeny - Spero Denario 29-8-2-3 $74,523.
Editor's note: Goodtogo was bought back by Mark and Pauline O'Connor for $12,500.
Orse M Denario (4yr old mare - Washington VC - Royaler) qualified but unraced.
Ergo Denario (Bettor's Delight filly) and Optimo Denario (Filly by Bettor's Delight)
Highview Dream (7 yr old mare - Safely Kept - Spandau Mistique) unraced mare
Progeny - Forte Denario (fily by McArdle), Black Redemption (filly by Washington VC) and Somnio Denario (filly by Elsu).
Editors note – Forte Denario was sold to Ricky Thurlow for $11,000 on the third day of the 2008 Yearling sales in Christchurch.
Highview Mystery (11yr old mare - Road Machine - Smooth Mystery) 2 wins
Progeny - She's A Mystery 10-1-0-0 $2,850, Metro Denario (colt by Bettor's Delight) and Mucho Denario (filly by McArdle).
