Longbeach Lovely!

Bringing the best form to the race, Longbeach (3 c Fastnet Rock - Betwixt, by O'Reilly) scored a well-deserved victory in the Avondale Supporters Club Maiden 1600 metres on Jan. 13 at Avondale.

“It may be his fifth start to clear maidens but I don't think that reflects his ability,” said trainer Jason Bridgman.

“He has been a bit of a slow learner, but has really hit the line strongly in his last couple of starts and the penny is starting to drop with him. As his pedigree suggests, he is going to improve when he steps up over a trip.

Bridgman sent only one horse to the meeting and continued a fine run of form in extending his lead to six in the Trainers Premiership, with 48 wins for the season.

Leading apprentice rider Rory Hutchings gained the mount, in a race for the young conditional jockeys only, and kept Longbeach nicely balanced before working into a spot three back on the outer. Clear on straightening, the staying type took awhile to wind up before showing good acceleration inside the final 100 metres to win handsomely.

“He won nicely,” said Hutchings. “A typical colt, he took a bit to get going, but once he changed through the gears he gave me a very nice feel. He's going to make a nice horse once he gets over ground and matures further.

“He was definitely the best horse in the field and he showed the opposition that he was,” said Hutchings. “He travelled like the mile suited him, but hit the line like he wanted further and he is a very strong horse for a three-year-old.

Holding a NZ Derby (Gr. 1, 2400m) nomination for March 1 at Ellerslie, Longbeach boasts the right pedigree components to tackle such a task and all importantly has now gained a valuable win. His dam, Betwixt (O'Reilly), registered the Tasmanian Derby (Gr. 3, 2200m) amongst her three wins, while grand-dam Not Sure (Masterclass) impressed winning over a mile and 2000 metres.

Te Akau principal David Ellis was fortunate in being able to purchase a colt by the champion sire Fastnet Rock (Danehill) for such a reasonable cost, when $130,000 was enough to buy him from the draft of Curraghmore Stud at the 2012 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier Yearling Sale.

While not lacking for size and strength, Longbeach is just the type to go with the job having tasted the winning feeling and it certainly appears that longer journeys will work in his favour.

Picture credit - www.raceimages.co.nz