Fifteen years ago, prominent WA breeder Mike Howie outlaid $5000 to purchase a broodmare by the name of Benjor Maddy Lombo, who was in foal to Lombo Mandingo.
The resultant foal was named Maddy White, who raced 51 times for Howie for eleven wins, 20 placings and $110,824 in prizemoney.
Since then, Benjor Maddy Lombo has produced another six winners --- with the seven winners bred by Howie winning a total of 108 races and $1,713,248.
Howie owns and trains Benjor Maddy Lombo’s second last foal Maddy Lou, who has overcome a series of serious injuries and gave a splendid frontrunning performance for teenage driver Abbey Vidovich to score an easy win in the 1730m Vale Chris Garrard Pace at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
This was four-year-old Maddy Lou’s sixth win at her 21ST start and took her earnings to $46,414. “She has had so few starts because she was out of action for 23 months (from September 2023 until August 2025) as she recovered from a bow tendon, twice, a damaged suspensory ligament and an injured hock after being caught up in a fence,” said Howie.
Howie explained that in 2010 he had asked good friend and fellow breeder John Coffey to buy a brood mare for him at one of Mick Lombardo’s dispersal sales in Victoria.
“My first choice was sold for $30,000 or $40,000, and then John bought Benjor Maddy Lombo for me for $5000,” said Howie.
Benjor Maddy Lombo was only a moderate performer who raced 34 times for three wins on Victorian country tracks, 12 placings and $21,511 in stakes. She is a half-sister to eight winners, including the brilliant Suave Stuey Lombo (110 starts for 33 wins, 23 placings and $587,032).
Apart from Maddy White and Maddy Lou, Benjor Maddy Lombo has produced highly successful pacers Handsandwheels (102 starts for 29 wins, 33 placings and $707,393), Rock Me Over (281 starts for 30 wins, 82 placings and $515,828), Squinta (100 starts for 11 wins, 31 placings and $112,662) and Magnus Victor (67 starts for 16 wins, 22 placings and $190,646).
Those pacers were purchased at Perth yearling sales, but Howie did not offer Maddy Lou for sale at the 2022 sale, explaining: “She is the second last of Benjor Maddy Lombo’s progeny, and I wanted to keep her specifically for breeding.
“Her half-sister Maddy White is proving a super broodmare, having produced Star Of Diamonds, Floewriter and Bettor Move Matty.”
Star Of Diamonds won a group 2 Breeders Stakes and group 3 features Race For Roses and the Golden Girls Mile at Pinjarra before being retired with earnings of $201,308 from nine wins and 22 placings from 62 starts.
Floewriter won the group 1 Sales Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings in February 2021and has earned $175,765 from 12 wins and four placings from 30 starts. Bettor Move Matty has raced seven times for two wins, three placings and $68,403.
