Larneuk Stud's Neville Murdoch has been breeding and racing horses for a long time, but when his promising three year-old O'Tauto won at Flemington earlier this month, the victory brought joy all round.
With two wins and two seconds from just four starts, the son of O'Lonhro has impressed trainer Greg Eurell, who has entered him in the $5million inaugural All Star Mile to be run at Flemington on March 16.
"He's always shown good ability and Greg thinks he can be a good horse, so why not have a try at the All Star Mile," said Neville Murdoch.
O'Tauto was bred by Neville Murdoch, but failed to reach his $15,000 reserve as a weanling at the Inglis Great Southern Sale so was retained to race, a decision that now looks like paying dividends as he has already won over $170,000 in prizemoney.
"As a breeder you have these ideas of what stallions work with each other and
I'd always believed Lonhro and Night Shift was a great match, so was on the
lookout for Night Shift mares to go to our stallion O'Lonhro," Murdoch revealed."They are hard to find, you just don't see many of them, but I was at the Great Southern Sale and this Strategic mare came into the ring and her dam was by Night Shift, so I bought her for $800 and that's Taut, the dam of O'Tauto."
The Lonhro x Night Shift nick runs at 66.7% winners to runners with 24 winners from 36 starters, those winners including six stakes-winners topped by Group I winners Mental and Beaded.
Taut has since had two fillies by Cluster and another by Ilovethiscity, but is now back in foal to O'Lonhro.
"It was a big thrill for us to see him win at Flemington, but it was even more rewarding to see the reaction of his young strapper Claire Skerman," Murdoch said.
"She adores him and was so emotional, her story is one that needs to be told."
Claire started out riding as a 6yo in a local pony club with her parents supporting her all the way, an achievement within itself given Claire suffers extreme scoliosis (a severe curvature of the spine).
Horses became her way of life, as it does, and working in a stable was the right career for her, which she started after finishing school.
On the morning of 27th August 2017, Claire went out to ride her sister's horse.
Riding around the arena, he started to get agitated and proceeded to buck uncontrollably,
Claire was out of sync with her mount and was inevitably dislodged. Claires' Dad was ring side, attending to his daughter knowing she couldn't get up and the pain in her back growing, he called an ambulance.
In hospital, Claire and her family were informed she had an L3 burst fracture and other slight fractures to L2 and L4. Claire had surgery on the 30th August where surgeons removed a rib to use in repairing her spine.
Claire's initial recovery was intense. A year for the bone graft to heal, months in a wheelchair, back brace, rehabilitation to learn the simple things - standing up, walking again. She still has ongoing rehab and physiotherapy.
Claire began work with Greg Eurell at Cadet Lodge in July 2018 and in her second week she was asked if she would like to strap a horse in his first start at Cranbourne..
That was O'Tauto.
He won and Claire has been with him ever since.
"Flemington was a thrill, strapping O'Tauto at the All Star Mile would be monumental," Claire Skerman said.
Everything about this story is monumental. An $800 mare bought for a $5,000 stallion is making dreams come true.
