STAR Tasmanian pacer Beautide will take his first serious step towards a second Miracle Mile win when he trials at Menangle today.
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Sydney-based trainer James Rattray plans to give the rising seven-year-old three trials before he resumes racing next month.
‘‘We’ll start him off in some free-for-all races as we get him ready for November,’’ Rattray said.
‘‘Then we’ll look for the best lead-up race to the Miracle Mile which is run at the end of that month.’’
Beautide was to have trialled last Tuesday but Rattray had the ’flu and decided to stay at home.
‘‘The horse is coming along really well – I’m very happy with his condition.’’
Beautide had five weeks in the paddock after winning the $100,000 Len Smith Mile at Menangle on April 27.
It was his 12th win from 14 starts in a remarkable season that netted connections just over $1.1million in stakes.
The bulk of that money, $875,000, came from his wins in the Miracle Mile and Inter-Dominion final.
Sid no sloth
IT’S not unusual for horses sacked from leading Victorian stables to find their way to Tasmania.
But it doesn’t often happen the other way around.
When Spreyton trainer Adam Trinder sacked a then unraced two-year-old called Sid The Sloth, the gelding’s Melbourne owner, Dr Tan Dieu, decided to seek a second opinion.
So he went straight to the top, sending Sid The Sloth to the Mick Price stable at Caulfield.
At his first start for Price, the gelding ran second in a four-horse field at Geelong before striking severe interference when second-last in a listed race at Caulfield.
Price must have seen enough because Dr Dieu, a plastic surgeon who also has horses with Dermot Weld in Ireland, then rang Trinder to ask him if he would try Sid The Sloth again.
Trinder agreed and, after a string of minor placings, the gelding has now won two of his past three starts.
He led virtually all the way in the Benchmark 62 Handicap at Spreyton on Saturday but, despite the ease of his win, Trinder is still not getting carried away.
‘‘He was well rated in front and got away with some cheap sectionals, so I think the margin might have flattered him,’’ the trainer said.
‘‘He’s definitely improved – his work has shown that – but he’s still got a fair way to go to cover his purchase price.’’
The son of ill-fated stallion Northern Meteor cost his owner $65,000.
Big entries
FORMER boom youngster Mister John heads a massive lineup of 156 entries for this week’s Spreyton meeting.
Mister John won his only two starts as a two-year-old and was three-year-old of the year in 2012-13 when his wins included the Tasmanian Guineas.
He raced only five times as a four-year-old for a win in Hobart and minor placings in the $100,000 Tattsbet Stakes in Launceston and an $80,000 race at Flemington.
Trainer Royston Carr has entered Mister John for Sunday’s $20,000 Tapeta Sprint Prelude over 1000 metres.
Jockeys out
TWO jockeys were suspended and another faces an adjourned inquiry after racing incidents at Spreyton on Sunday.
Kim Moore got two meetings, effective immediately, and Chantal Willis one meeting, starting next week, for interference in the main race.
Apprentice Georgie Catania has been charged with causing interference in the last race but her inquiry was postponed until next Sunday to allow her master to be present.
All three riders finished in the top 10 last season.
With four other top-10 jockeys also absent for various reasons, the ranks are starting to look very thin.