Macca Lodgers

Macca Lodge’s Brent McIntyre has been around horses all his life.

It hasn’t been easy at times but he and his wife Sheree have survived the lows and better times of farming. 

“Old Davey Todd used to duck shoot over home with my grandfather. When we were kids Cardigan Bay was our hero. He was a good old bugger old Davey and we used to get a whole lot of good stories out of him when we were kids. I got the bug when I was a wee kid,” said Brent.

Brent has spent most of his working life mixing farming with working in the meat industry. 

During those early years Brent and Sheree farmed at Tussock Creek and there were tough times.

“You were living to keep your name on the mailbox. When the dairy boom happened it made it all worthwhile. We were sheep farming. I worked through that era and I thought I was going to get out earlier but then something would go wrong and I had to stay another few years. When the dairy boom happened, property was worth a dollar and we had a bit of equity.”

Horses were always part of life. Transzan, by Transport Chip out of the Hi Foyle mare Hi There was the first horse Brent and Sheree bred. 

“Trist Mist was going well at the time and she was by Transport Chip out of a Knowing Bret mare so we bred Transzan to Transport Chip – reverse breeding and got Just Jazzan.”

As a racehorse Just Jazzan was initially trained by Graeme McIntyre (Brent’s father) before Brent took over. She provided him with his first winner at Invercargill in 1992 and won a total of six races. 

Jaccka Lodge, a Northern Southland breeding establishment came on the market and in 2008 Brent and Sheree embarked on a new adventure, changing Jaccka Lodge name to Macca Lodge.

“Charlie’s (Charlie Smaill) place came up and we decided to have a go. I thought that would be more interesting than sheep because I’d had a gutsful of them. When we put the tender in there was two people the same. A dairy farmer and us. If they’d got it, the place would have basically been pulled down and converted to dairy. Obviously Charlie didn’t want that to happen and we ended up getting it.”

Today the McIntyre’s house most of the Southern regions broodmares at some stage of their breeding years and they have three stallions on their books – Fear The Dragon, En Solitaire and Tiger Tara.

Fear The Dragon (Dragon Again) had just twenty nine starts as a two and three year old, winning seventeen times with seven seconds and two thirds, for $1,720,297. He won on all sized tracks and was 100 percent sound when he retired. His oldest New Zealand progeny are two year olds.

Trotting stallion En Solitaire is an unraced son of super sire Ready Cash out of a Love You mare and is bred on the same cross as Bold Eagle and Facetime Bourbon (13 wins from 15 starts). His first crop are two year olds.

New to Macca Lodge is Bettor’s Delight stallion Tiger Tara. On the racetrack be won an unprecedented treble; the Group One Inter Dominion Final, the Group One A.G. Hunter Cup and the Group One Victoria Cup. In a career spanning eight seasons Tiger Tara earned $2,375,065 from 37 wins. He had 40 placings in 112 starts and took a mile mark of 1:49.8.

Macca Lodge are presenting eight yearlings at next week’s yearling sale in Christchurch and Brent has spotlighted four colts in his draft.

LOT 218 – Always B Miki – Bay Jet (Jereme’s Jet) – colt

“He is an outstanding colt and a good looker. He’s relaxed and good natured with it. The first three out of Bay Jet have all won races and he’s a half brother to Wild West,” Brent said.

LOT 321 – Always B Miki – Mach N Elle (Mach Three) – colt

“He’s a beautiful colt from a lovely mare whose first three foals between them have won twenty races here and then many more in the United States. This colt is a half brother to Watch Me Now (He’s Watching) who went 1:49.6 in America. Older brother Darcee (Bettor’s Delight) also won a lot of races in the USA and recorded a 1:50.8 mile. This colt has the breeding and looks to sell well.”

LOT 146 –  Southwind Frank – Focus On Me (S J’s Photo) – colt

“He’s a really nice colt, who we are presenting on behalf of Kevin Townley. The yearling hails from the Sundon family and is a half-brother to NZ Trotter of the Year, Highgrove (Love You). I thought Southwind Frank would cross perfectly and he has. He ticks all the boxes and is from a proven mare who has left some nice racehorses.”

LOT 208 – Fear The Dragon – Asajah (Christian Cullen) – colt.

“A standout colt, the only Fear The Dragon colt in the Sale and he’s from a top family. He’s closely related to rising star Catch A Wave (Captaintreacherous) which has won thirteen of his nineteen starts in Australia. His wins include the Group One Breeders Crown Final for two year old colts and geldings, the Group One Vic Gold Bullion for three year old colts and geldings, and the Group One Vic Bred Super Series Final for three year old colts and geldings. He’s won $433,870.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink