A more conservative strategy aboard Beadman in the Gold Coast Guineas has delivered success for his connections, who are plotting a tilt at Brisbane winter carnival’s sprint showcase.
Having taken the Fireball Quality (1100m) on return, the three-year-old posted no placings in subsequent Sydney appearances, necessitating a riding rethink for Saturday’s Group 3 affair.
“The last couple of starts he drew bad gates and going forward backfired. He has been over-racing,” trainer Peter Snowden said.
“Today, he was really good. He built into it, and he was strong late. You keep riding him those sort of races we’ll get better results.
“He’s a beautiful horse to deal with. He’s got a great nature, he’s got a great temperament and hopefully he can be a good horse.”
The previous year’s parallel meeting saw Beadman etch his name large, demolishing rivals in the Ken Russell Memorial Classic (1200m) by beyond eight lengths.
Saturday’s revisit to his glory ground brought a tighter success, insufficient to echo the prior romp, though it signalled strong form for Queensland’s ongoing carnival.
Snowden outlined the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm in June as the endgame, with an intervening race in prospect: the Doomben 10,000 (1200m) this coming weekend or Fred Best Classic (1400m) a couple of weeks beforehand.
“Discussions were made to run him next week in the (Doomben) 10,000. It’s on the table, but ultimately, a race like the Stradbroke is where you want to be,” Snowden said.
“We can go to the three-year-old race two weeks into that, or we back him up next week. We’ll see how the horse pulls up and make a call in a couple of days’ time.”
Winning hoop James McDonald eyes dodging the 10,000 for Beadman, conflicted by his booking on Tom Charlton’s Napoleonic.
“I’ve got a ride in the Doomben 10,000 so I don’t want him running there,” McDonald said.
“First time we’ve ridden him a bit conservatively, and he responded really well.”
$2.60 favourite Beadman edged filly Nepo Baby ($5) by a length on the line, as $14 chance Motorsports flew home for third, the gap a head.
Head to betting sites offering enhanced markets for the Stradbroke Handicap following Beadman’s Guineas success.