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?
Cut And Style (Presidential Ball - Stylish Arden). We sold her as a 4 year old after winning three races for Wayne Adams in Southland. She went on to win seven races in New Zealand, qualified for the Harness Jewels and is now doing a good job in America. Another sold was 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). Spero Denario finished 4th in the 2010 Harness Jewels and has won eight races from twenty nine starts (1-57.4).
Highest priced colt bred and sold:
Spero Denario
Highest priced filly bred and sold:
Fresco Denario (Artiscape-Campeche) 2006 Yearling Sales for $20,000. She's the winner of two races with a best mile rate of 1-58.8.
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)
Favourite all time stallions?
Fake Left - understandably, closely followed by Presidential Ball. We have patronised Art Major in recent seasons and are hopeful he will kick some goals for our mares.
What new season sire are you most excited about?
We are supporting Panspacificflight. His first crop have done a tremendous job in America and he has a rock solid pedigree with his dam being a full sister to the mother of Art Major.
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 (Talk About Class - Rollerball) This mare died at stud in the 2009/2010 season
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) 35-2-4-4 $20,335. and Dreamo Denario (Soky’s Atom) 34-4-1-6 $21,025
Dreamo Denario (Soky’s Atom - Campeche) 4 wins
Progeny - Spero Denario (Presidential Ball) 40-10-2-4 $87,616 and Goodtogo Denario (8-1-0-0 $4,432).
Orse M Denario (Washington VC - Royaler) qualified but unraced.
Ergo Denario (Bettor's Delight filly retained for breeding) and Optimo Denario (filly by Bettor's Delight)
Highview Dream (Safely Kept - Spandau Mistique) unraced mare
Progeny - Forte Denario (filly by McArdle which has won five races from fifteen starts in Queeensland. She also ran fifth in the Queensland Oaks) and Black Redemption (filly by Washington VC 1 win) .
Arden's Queen (Soky's Atom - Arden Regal) unraced mare
Progeny - Rusty Wire (Bettor's Delight colt), Tarseal Queen (Bettor's Delight filly), AlliwantforXmas (Mach Tree colt) and El For Leather (Elsu colt)
Presidential Sweet (Presidential Ball - Stylish Sweetheart) 3 win mare 1-57.2 TT
Progeny: Romeo Denario (colt by American Ideal) served by Changeover
Illgiveyathetyp (Falcon Seelster - Typify) Full sister to seven win gelding Aveross Hawk and closely related to Rider On The Storm Served by Stonebridge Regal.
Southern Delight (Bettor's Delight - Averil's Atom) Half sister to nine win mare Shezacullen and Shezaball.
