It was a tremendous result for the Beechdown team and two of our long-standing racing syndicates on Friday 26th May, as we celebrated two brilliant performances with winning results from our fillies, Spirit of the Bay and Get Ahead, at Haydock.
Our first entry of the day was one of our older horses, five-year-old Spirit of the Bay, whose consistent form as a three-year-old led her to victory four times with a couple of near misses in the season that followed. Under the hands of Richard Kingscote in the class 4 handicap, the filly seemed slow away, but she handled herself well to sustain a nice rhythm at the back of the field. With three furlongs from home, we still hadn’t seen jockey or horse make a move, but this quickly transformed into a patient but powerful move on the outside, with plenty of room to sprint clear back up to 1m2f. With a length in hand, she crossed the line with an air of confidence and noticeable speed. It was pleasing to see her take advantage of her reduced handicapper mark and the step back up in trip, but it was even more thrilling for her owners, The Baywatchers, who celebrate their first win with her this season.
Next to claim the winner’s enclosure was our very classy four-year-old filly, Get Ahead, who stormed to success in the feature race over six furlongs. Carrying the racing syndicate’s well-known maroon and gold silks, and once again with jockey of the day on board Richard Kingscote, we were thrilled with her explosive performance and achieve her first listed success in style.
Breaking well, Richard had her sat handy behind the bulk of runners which half-way through looked like it might present some difficulties for her make her way through. Once again, a very patient run into the final stages by her jockey saw her continue to build and gather momentum until a gap opened up that she could smartly travel into, as she powerfully quickened for home. The final furlong saw her best action – a testament to how aptly named she is – and it highlighted her classy aptitude for sprinting and outranking her fellow contenders so seamlessly on the day. A step up in company beckons, and at the time of writing we are hopeful of running in the Group 2 Prix Du Gros-Chene on Sunday 4th June.
