BEAUTIDE UNCHALLENGED TO WIN 2ND INTER FINAL
No one ever doubted he was a true champion!
And today Australia’s best pacer Beautide showed he was a champion stayer as well.
The style of a dual Inter Dominion champion. Beautide and James Rattray are easy winners again in 2015. Photo: NSWHRC.
The former Tasmanian son of Bettors Delight sat outside of the three-time New Zealand Cup winner Terror To Love and simply blew him away with a fabulous win in today’s $750,000 TAB.COM.AU Inter Dominion Grand Final at Tabcorp Park Menangle.
When West Australian pacer David Hercules had a “look” for the ‘death seat’, outside the leader early in the race, Beautide’s trainer-driver James Rattray declared it wasn’t there.
So he raced without cover for almost two miles and outstayed the best field seen in Australia this summer for a sterling performance, rating 1:55.8 for his last mile to beat outsider Flaming Flutter and the fast-finishing For A Reason.
Flaming Flutter (Greg Sugars) had a perfect one-one trail behind Beautide throughout the race and finished well without ever threatening the winner, to be beaten 13.9m with For A Reason, who raced three back on the pegs, emerging late for a flashing third, a further 1.4m back.
“It wasn’t ideal, he threw a shoe, he was feeling above himself, but that’s the way we like to race him,” Rattray said after the win.
“After the way he won his heat, I was confident we’d go well today.
“This horse looks to be labouring until you ask him to go.”
Rattray said there was a good chance he would head to Perth later this year for the next Inter Dominion.
“The $1.3m prizemoney is a tremendous incentive and the three-week carnival will also suit Beau as it gives me time to prepare him for each heat and the final,” he said.
“Beau’s given us such a tremendous journey. We love him to death.”
James’ father Barrie, who bred Beautide, was even more succinct:
“How did we even get here,” he said.
“It’s been a strange journey, changing properties and so on.
“But how lucky are we to have a beautiful horse like Beautide?”
IDEAL FOR REAL WINS NSW DERBY
Master reinsman Gavin Lang admitted he didn’t mind finishing second to Natalie Rasmussen in the feature races on Inter Dominion Grand Final Day.
But he suggested he would like to reverse the placings in at least one of them – and he was hoping it might be the $200,000 Camarda and Cantrill NSW Derby.
Ideal For Real (nearest camera, Gavin Lang) has the last say, defeating favourite Hug The Wind (Natalie Rasmussen) in the $200,000 NSW Derby. Photo: NSWHRC.
And just when Rasmussen looked likely to make it her fourth successive win for the day with Hug The Wind, Lang lifted promising colt Ideal For Real over the line to score a fighting win by the barest margin possible.
Nothing could be taken away from Ideal For Real’s NSW Derby win as he sat outside of Hug The Wing for most of the race and just when she was entitled to be giving ground and feeling the pinch on the home turn, he fought on doggedly to score in a 1:55.8 mile rate.
While Hug The Wind had every chance and finished second, Sporty Spook finished a game third, just ahead of Art Union.
Part-owner of the winner Bruce Carey said he bought this youngster for his wife and four children and it was the perfect advertisement for harness racing.
“If anyone doesn’t have a share in a horse out there, they should get one,” he said.
“And this horse is the reason why. If you told me a couple of years ago we would be here winning a NSW Derby
I would have laughed at you.
“Yet here we are – and it is just fantastic.”
Courtesy of Sean Vella, NSWHRC