David Hall comes from a racing family. Greg Hall, who won the 1992 Melbourne Cup on Subzero, is his first cousin. David established his own reputation as a trainer in Adelaide, following his father Joe, before shifting to Melbourne in 1993, first at Epsom, then at Flemington. His impressive early achievements with Makybe Diva should not be underappreciated. From the filly’s first start in a sprint at Benalla in July 2002 (finishing fourth) and her first win a fortnight later at Wangaratta (on a heavy 1600-metre track), Makybe Diva scored eight wins, three thirds and four fourths from eighteen starts for Hall as trainer.
These were no ordinary performances. Her third win was a fillies’ and mares’ race at Flemington on Turnbull Stakes Day, 2002. Next was the Werribee Cup and then the 2500-metre Queen Elizabeth Stakes on the Melbourne Cup Carnival final day. Her preparation for the next year’s spring saw four successive fourths. These included the Turnbull Stakes and then her eye-catching finish in the Caulfield Cup. That was the first time Glen Boss rode Makybe Diva.
Not only did David Hall train the mare for her first Melbourne Cup win. Next autumn she ran third in the Group 1 Ranvet and the BMW at Rosehill, before stepping out to win the 2004 Sydney Cup, carrying 4.5 kilograms more than her Melbourne Cup weight. She was the first since Galilee in 1967 to win the Melbourne and Sydney Cups. Many had tried. The only others in history to succeed were Lord Cardigan, Carbine and The Barb. Good company.
Tony Santic was the owner and breeder, through his bloodstock business Emily Krsrina Pty Ltd. In a strange sequence of events, he bred the foal in England and failed to sell her as a yearling before bringing her to Australia. And the name? A reference to six valued employees at the owner’s South Australian fishery business. Maureen. Kylie. Belinda. Dianne. Vanessa. Abracadabra! Magic at Flemington, twenty years ago.