Warrnambool’s Noel Mugavin won the richest breeders race in Victoria at last Saturday’s Australian Cup night when Janali took out the Group 3 GRV Vic Bred Maiden Final (525m) at The Meadows.

A rare visitor to Melbourne these days, Mugavin was on track to witness Janali comfortably defeat Yongning (Daryl Holmes) and Annasay (William McMahon) in 30.29sec, and he could barely contain his excitement after the daughter of Barcia Bale and Born Ali snared the $25,000 first prize.

“I used to travel to Melbourne a bit to watch Born Ali race quite a bit. She was a Group 1 winner and competed in a lot of group races, and to have one of her daughters win a Group 3 is enormous, especially on a night like this,” Mugavin said after Janali notched what was the second win of her career from six starts.

A school teacher by trade, Mugavin commended the Britton camp for getting Janali ready for the Vic Bred series after she had a setback that saw her miss four months of racing between October and mid-February.

“She fell and broke her shoulder at her third start, so it’s a huge effort by (co-trainers) Robbie Britton, Brendan Pursell and their team to get her ready for this race,” he said.

The Barcia Bale litter was Born Ali’s first, and Mugavin believes the best is yet to come for the 23-month-old litter.

“Born Ali was a great chaser, she was very versatile and there’s a lot more improvement in Janali. Others in the litter include Benali, who has had injury issues but has run 29.25sec at Sandown, Barcali, Born Jamie and Menzali, who all have ability,” Mugavin said.

Mugavin, a former AFL star with Fitzroy and Richmond, is currently rearing an 11-month-old My Bro Fabio-Born Ali litter at home, while he recently purchased a Fernando Bale straw for the seven-year-old Born Ali’s next mating.

Born Ali (4) winning a race on 2013 Ballarat Cup night, and now she is a prolific dam. Photos by: Clint Anderson.