A Change Of Plans Pays Off For Beaucount
13 June, 2018
Thoroughbred
T
THOROUGHBRED
Sometimes as a trainer you can get lucky and a plan comes off.
For Brad Graham, a change of tactics on Beaucount proved a masterstroke.
With a losing record of 261 days and a tendency to over race, Graham was running out of ideas with Beaucount.
But in the Sign On Group Handicap (2000m) at Belmont on Wednesday, Graham rolled the dice and adopted a change of plans.
Graham stepped Beaucount up in distance and instructed Randy Tan to go forward from his inside barrier.
Both Tan and Beaucount responded magnificently, leading all the way and trouncing their nearest rival by 7 ½ lengths.
Solidly backed from $15 into $8 on course, Beaucount defeated Smallamountofmerit with I’m A Love Man running third.
“He is a very hard pulling horse,” Graham said.
“Fred Kersley had him before me and he used to do the same.
“I thought the only chance today (Wednesday) was go forward and hope for the best.
“And he just kept just kept going.
“That’s probably how we have to ride him.
“I didn’t think he would be that far in front, but coming to the turn I thought keep going.
“If he can keep doing that over longer journeys, you never know, he might win on Saturday.”
Beaucount, who improved his record to three wins from 22 starts, gave Tan his first city win since transitioning from apprentice to senior jockey a fortnight back.
“I thought I was doing it easy and didn’t worry about how far in front I was,” Tan said.
“He was travelling comfortably and wasn’t over racing.
“He wasn’t even blowing so credit to the trainer in having him fit.”
Julio Santarelli