Unbeaten McGaw will be a headline act for Emma-Lee and David Browne on Memsie Stakes day but there will be no shortage of supporting talent stepping out for the co-trainers.
In a forum where ‘horsey’ types converse online to discuss everything about their equine obsession, the question was asked.
Does the size of horses’ ears mean anything?
Behind pseudonyms, the replies were as expected in this day and age of keyboard interaction.
There is a mix of theorisation about survival in the wild as a herd animal, posted between unproven claims that bigger ears translate into a higher level of intelligence.
But the best responses almost always came with a sense of humour: “Big ears mean better hearing. Or, it’s a donkey.”
As one of three unbeaten horses contesting the McNeil Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday and with a Caulfield Guineas on his spring radar, McGaw is no donkey.
That doesn’t mean Emma-Lee Browne doesn’t see the funny side of a distinguishing feature that set McGaw apart when his co-trainer first laid eyes on him at Inglis’ Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne.
Pressed on what caught her attention, Browne replied: “His huge ears. And long legs. He has still got all those (legs).”
But she is also none the wiser about the benefits of having ears masquerading as those old-fashioned antennas that used to sit on the top of your television in the 1970s.
“I don’t know. Hopefully, he can listen to me better, telling him to go faster,” she said.”
If that’s the case, McGaw has been a good listener so far with two wins from as many starts and $600,000 in the kitty to repay his purchase price many times over.
The most important of those victories came in the VOBIS Showdown, a $1 million race for two-year-olds run during the autumn that has been a source for both Asian bloodstock agents and domestic spring ambitions.
Hong Kong did call, but Browne says McGaw’s connections figured they had nothing to lose after buying into the $14,000 yearling.
“There's a big group of (owners) and he'd already paid for himself, so I think they just wanted to carry on and race him,” she said.
McGaw, a son of Swettenham Stud’s I Am Immortal, represents the best chance of Memsie Stakes day win for Browne and her husband David, among six runners for a stable that is starting to make inroads after setting up in Victoria three years ago.
Second to Zardozi in the VRC Oaks of 2023, Basilinna thrives on a staying test, dominating a capacity field in the Andrew Ramsden 💫@Yendall21 is victorious in the Andrew Ramsden for the second time.@Em_spartaracing pic.twitter.com/LhEC0aTd0T
— Racing.com (@Racing) May 17, 2025
Inspired by the 2021 Victorian spring deeds of the peculiarly named Elephant, who struck a patch of form that included two wins and an agonisingly close defeat in the Feehan Stakes, the Brownes left New Zealand the following year to make Australia home.
In McGaw, a Melbourne Cup-qualified runner in Basilinna, two younger stayers with Derby placings alongside their name in Scary and Statuario and an influx of new-season juveniles, there is an air of expectation about what the early part of 2025/2026 will bring.
Basilinna also resumes at Caulfield, stretching her legs over middle distance, having already booked her place in the Melbourne Cup courtesy of a victory in the Andrew Ramsden at Flemington in May.
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Browne is hoping Scary and Statuario, engaged in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes, can join their stablemate on a Cups path should they make the necessary improvement from runner-up finishes in the Victoria Derby and South Australian Derby, respectively, last season.
“I think you always do this time of year when you've got a nice horse. So we'll just get through Saturday and make a plan accordingly,” Browne said.
“But to have a team of horses that are good enough to be a part of the spring is exciting in itself and things couldn’t be going better for the stable.
“Last season was fantastic for us. I'd always wanted to move over here … it had always been in the back of our mind and I think probably when we had Elephant, it was the time to do it.
“It's been a great move for all of us, for the whole family. It's worked out really well.”
