MENDEARA ETOILE was Tasmania’s best “miler” of his generation with his feats good enough to earn him a place in the Tasmanian Racing Hall of Fame.
Mendeara Etoile won all of Tasmania’s major middle distance races and in 1985 he ventured interstate to claim the Victoria Handicap which was run at Caulfield over the Easter weekend.
Mendeara Etoile won from 1100m to 1675m and his style of racing was to settle back in the field and then storm home with a barnstorming finish.
Former jockey Pat Allan described Mendeara Etoile as the “perfect racehorse’’.
“He was a laid back gentleman and nothing bothered him,’’ he said.
Allan rates Mendeara Etoile’s Newmarket Handicap and two wins in the Tasmanian Stakes in Launceston as his most important victories while the gelding’s Victoria Handicap win gave the rest of Australia a glimpse of his brilliance.
His Listed race wins included the Cinema Stakes, Tasmanian Stakes and Tasmanian Newmarket Handicap along with feature race wins in the Governor’s Cup and the Goodwood Stakes.
He was prepared by Hall of Fame trainer Len Dixon who always regarded Mendeara Etoile as the best horse he prepared during his long career.