Divine Dot trots up at The ‘Bool

Divine Dot delivered the perfect birthday present for her owner-breeder Bernadette McArdle with a dominant display in the VOBIS Gold Strike (1200m) on the opening day of the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival.

McArdle, whose husband John trains the talented filly, was able to upgrade the birthday champagne after collecting the lion’s share of the $91,650 prizemoney, which included a very handy $22,900 in VOBIS bonuses.

The juvenile contest carried an additional $30,000 in VOBIS Platinum vouchers, giving the hobby breeder the opportunity to send one of her broodmares to a VOBIS Sires stallion for a cut-price service fee in the upcoming season.

McArdle is yet to decide how she will reinvest her vouchers, but what is beyond doubt is that Divine Dot - so named because of the white dot on her forehead - is the best horse she has bred since the stable’s former flagbearer La Rocque, who was a juvenile stakes winner before being sold at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale for $250,000.

Jamie Mott was aboard La Rocque when she claimed the TBV Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) on Australian Cup Day in 2021, and it was the same pilot who steered Divine Dot to her all-the-way win last week at The ‘Bool.    

Work commitments prevented McArdle from making the pilgrimage to Warrnambool to witness the win, but suffice to say she was cheering loudly from afar as the speedy daughter of Overshare romped to the second victory of her fledgling career.  

“It was the best birthday present I could’ve hoped for,” she said.

“John got back from the races just in time for the cake cutting, so he did well to come home and resist going out in Warrnambool. It was a great win by the filly, I’m never that confident with any of our horses because I don’t like to jinx them, but her mum liked wet tracks so I was reasonably sure that she’d handle the conditions.

“John was probably more confident than me and he was right to be, because she won fairly easily in the end. It was a great race to win especially with the VOBIS bonuses and vouchers attached to it, which made it like winning a city race on a Saturday. We’ll have to use the vouchers to try to breed another one now, but it won’t be easy to breed one as good as her.”

Like all breeders, whether hobbyists or commercial, McArdle condes that the alchemy required to produce a fast horse is very much a case of trial and error, with Divine Dot’s dam Miracle To Me certainly producing more misses than hits before eventually striking equine gold with her sixth foal.

Indeed, the mare is already enjoying her retirement having been pensioned following a moderate career in the breeding barn, so she certainly saved her best for last with Divine Dot appearing well capable of picking off plenty more races during the late autumn and early winter months.  

“We bred the filly in partnership with some close family friends, the McIlwaines,” said McArdle, who juggles her work for an aged-care cleaning company with a part-time job teaching school students how to cook - as well as her Sunday shift at the stables.  

“We actually retired the dam after she produced this filly, she was her sixth foal and none of the previous five had been much good. Four of them made it to the racetrack and only two of them have won a race, I think they broke their maidens as five-year-old mares so she has definitely saved her best for last with this filly, because she looks pretty smart.

“I’m not sure where she will go next, I leave that side of things to John but hopefully it’s on a Saturday so I can make it to the races next time. I sometimes highlight a couple of races on the calendar that I think might be suitable, but he doesn’t take any notice of me! I would think we’ll be looking for another VOBIS race and a wet track, which shouldn’t be too hard to find in Victoria at this time of year, so hopefully we can have some fun with her through the winter.”