King Tide

03 March 2014 | Chris Barsby
Logo

Brilliant pacer Beautide has clearly emerged as the best pacer in Australia this season.

The Tasmanian bred and owned star completed a unique double by claiming both the Miracle Mile and Inter Dominion Grand Final in the same term.

His record feat can't even be matched by Inter Dominion immortals Blacks A Fake and Im Themightyquinn.

And as good as his Miracle Mile triumph was back in November, his victory yesterday (Sunday) was even better.

Starting from a second-line draw, Beautide was allowed to settle early while trainer/driver James Rattray summed up the situation as many jostled for key positions.

The lead time for the 3009m event was posted in 103.8 seconds.

Rattray made his move soon after and left his midfield trail to work around the field to sit parked while Kiwi pacer Smolda followed him forward.

Smolda applied strong pressure to early leader Mach Beauty and eventually forced his way to the front leaving Beautide without cover for the final 1400m.

The first half of the final mile was covered in 26.5 and 30 seconds.

Heading down the back straight, Smolda led the way from Beautide while Terror To Love moved up solo three-wide.

The third quarter was covered in 28.6 seconds.

As the big field straightened, Beautide moved up menacingly on the outside of Smolda while Seel N Print was probing for inside runs with For A Reason making a charge from near last deeper off the track.

But they were all in chasing in vain as Rattray gave Beautide more rein and the Bettors Delight gelding simply exploded away from his rivals.

At the finish, Beautide was in a league of his own and scored a dominating victory from Seel N Print and For A Reason.

The final quarter was covered in 27.1 seconds.

The mile rate was 1;55.5 which clearly obliterated the previous world record time of 1;58.1 set by Im Themightyquinn who set the mark twelve months earlier.

“How good is that; he felt so strong all the way and raced super today. I love this horse and to claim the Miracle Mile and Inter Dominion in the same season is just unbelievable.” Rattray beamed.

“The race didn’t really run the way I expected but we got the result, that’s the main thing. I would like to thank Fia (Svennson), my entire family and everyone else who has helped along the way. This is unreal.” Rattray added.

The victory of Beautide elevates him to outright second on the Australian Pacing Gold Grand Circuit leaderboard with 220 points, 40 points behind Christen Me while For A Reason sits a close third with 200 points.

The final leg of the Grand Circuit is the Trillian Trust $250,000 Auckland Cup to be staged at Alexandra Park this Friday night.

Footnote; Smooth Satin was the last pacer to complete the big double during the 2001/02 season.

 

Related News

29 March 2024
Group 1 mares add star power to Riverina Championships
Four Group 1 winning mares - including two currently considered to be among the nation’s best - will clash in an intriguing battle at the Riverina Championships finals program at Wagga on Sunday. The meeting features two $100,000 finals for four and five year-old pacers - one each for the boys...
29 March 2024
Ford looking for Gold on Good Friday
The combined harness and greyhound meeting on Good Friday night in Hobart is fast becoming a Tassie racing tradition, and it’s back again with eight greyhound races and six harness events making up this year’s 14-race program. Driver Dylan Ford will be out to continue his excellent start...
28 March 2024
New HRV chair Adam Kilgour on challenges, opportunities
Newly appointed Harness Racing Victoria chair Adam Kilgour says his passion for a challenge and the people in racing drives his desire to strengthen the industry. Kilgour was yesterday announced to replace Dale Monteith as the head of the board, on which he has served since 2018, and said he was eager...
28 March 2024
La sun of a gun emerges as Blackbook zeros in on breeding line
La Machane won 20 of her 61 starts and more than $330,000 for connections in Ross and Greg Sugars' care and the mare's making just as big an impression in the breeding barn. Having given us La Puddie ($137,179) and La Captain ($182,020), the Bettors Delight mare has another nice type in Benbullan, who...
28 March 2024
Jack ready to show off the next generation of stars at Bathurst
Nathan Jack has his next generation of stars ready to lead a northern assault on Bathurst's two-year-old Group 1s Saturday night, eager to emulate the stable's 2023 success.
Click for more