Leah Makybe Olive Beirouti with proud Berwick parents John and Rebecca and brother Jake.
By Callan Date
JOHN Beirouti says he was pipped at the post in a bid to have his second child named Makybe.
It was Mr Beirouti’s wife Rebecca who had the final say and opted for their daughter to have a middle name in tribute to three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva.
The race ended with Leah Makybe Olive Beirouti saluting the judges and being officially recorded on the birth certificate.
“I would have been rapt if it had got up as Leah’s first name,” Mr Beirouti, in true racing style, said.
“But Rebecca was afraid everyone would tease her once she got to school with a name like that.”
Leah was born on 7 March weighing four kilograms and is a younger sister for Jake.
Mr Beirouti said the family’s Berwick house was decked out in racing memorabilia, with a majority of it relating to the champion racehorse.
“The things she did were just incredible,” he said.
The self-confessed mad horse fan said he won money on all Makybe Diva’s Melbourne Cup victories and was lucky enough to see her race live.
“I saw her race on Australian Cup day, which was great,” Mr Beirouti said.
He said one of the main motivations for having Leah named after the thoroughbred was simple.
“How many kids can say they are named after a champion?” he said.
And Leah is not the only one in this story to be named after someone else.
Makybe Diva’s owner Tony Santic was stuck for a name for the horse and gave the job to five of his employees.
Maureen Dellar, Kylie Bascomb, Belinda Grocke, Dianne Tonkin and Vanessa Parthenis used the first two letters of their names to come up with Makybe Diva.
And the rest is racing history.
