Last foal a rising star in Victoria 

By Peter Wharton 

The Sweet Lou gelding Outlaw Man, who has won five of his six starts to date in Victoria, and has worked his way back to an NR68 mark, is the eighth and final foal of his dam, Eagles In My Pocket. 

A daughter of In The Pocket, Eagles In My Pocket was bought by retired Te Aroha dairy farmer Kevin Madgwick and his wife Dianne for $27,000 at the National Yearling Sales at Karaka in 2003. 

Outlaw Man with trainer Andy Gath and Kiwi Sam Thornley following their Australasian Junior Drivers Championship Heat win

“After the sale I asked the vendor Brian Hedger the reason he was selling the In The Pocket filly,” Kevin said. “He told me that he had another one in the paddock.” 

The other ‘one’ was Sky Beauty (1:58.4), a sister to Eagles In My Pocket, who won seven races and has been one of the gems of the NZ stud book. She is the dam of seven individual winners, six of whom took records of better than 2:00, including Sky Major 1:50.4 ($825,538), a winner of 19 races – including five at Group 1 level – and now standing at Wai Eyre Farm in the Canterbury district. 

Others from Sky Beauty have been the Western Australian Listed winner Sky Art 1:57 ($114,350), Sky Diamond 1:54.3 ($118,372), Sky Delight (1:56.1), Sky Falcon (1:57.2) and Sky Hunter (1:58.6). 

Eagles In My Pocket (1:59.1), the dam of Outlaw Man, won three races – two at Cambridge Raceway and one at Alexandra Park – for Cambridge horseman Mike Berger. At the stud she became the dam of four winners from eight foals with three going inside 2:00. 

“The best one we’ve bred out of her has been New York Minute. He won 11 races and more than $100,000 in stakes and competed against the best horses in the country,” Madgwick said. 

“Her first foal Busy Being Fabulous won four races and was sold to China.” 

The Tuapeka Knight mare Skyhigh Eagle, the dam of Eagles In My Pocket and Sky Beauty, left a trio of high class pacers in the Thames Pacing Cup winner Eagles Together 1:52 ($333,541), the NSW Listed winner Regal Eagle 1:54.4 ($153,680) and the Menangle and Albion Park victor Galactic Eagle 1:54 ($150,890). 

The Madgwick’s are currently breeding from Lenize, a successful Bettor’s Delight mare out of the eight-win Christian Cullen mare Suidelike Meisie (1:57.1). 

“She’s produced an American Ideal filly foal and is carrying a positive test to Downbytheseaside,” Kevin said. 

Lenize is a sister to Bad Medicine (four wins to date) and a half-sister to the exported Lerato 1:52.8 ($171,488) and Suidelike Major (1:59.6).