As a long-time Philadelphia Eagles fan and thoroughbred owner, Canadian-based Australian mining executive Michael O’Keeffe was always going to name a horse after Jordan Mailata.

It just had to be big.

So when Warwick Farm trainer Bryce Heys spotted a statuesque Written Tycoon-River Pebbles colt at the 2022 Inglis Easter sales, they had to have him.

Bought for $675,000 – a few thousand more than Sydney-born and raised Eagles star Mailata makes a week after his three-season, $100 million contract extension last year – the four-year-old gelding is set to chase another victory for O’Keeffe and his other connections at Randwick on Saturday, five days after Mailata helped Philadelphia to Super Bowl victory over Kansas City.

The 203-centimetre, 166-kilogram offensive tackle, a former South Sydney Rabbitohs junior, became Australia’s first Super Bowl champion when the Eagles defeated the two-time defending champions 40-22.

Heys hoped the victory was an omen for his namesake, which broke through at his fourth and most recent start, at Randwick’s Kensington track on January 15.

“It’s just the program of the horse and the way things set up, so it’s fate, but it’s funny how things like that work out,” Heys said.

O’Keeffe, a self-made mining entrepreneur, is the major owner of the horse. He has also raced horses with Heys named after golfer Jordan Spieth and baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani.