If Tommy Berry wasn’t immediately won over by Beer Baron’s stocky build, he was certainly taken by the colt’s debut run in the Inglis Nursery.
Caught wide from an awkward draw, the juvenile had the temerity to let down strongly in the straight before careering to the front and beating all but the fast-finishing Odinson, who nailed him in the final bounds.
He has drawn the rails in Saturday’s $2 million Inglis Millennium (1100m) and with natural improvement from his race day experience, Berry expects a bold showing.
“His first-up run he had to do it tough out wide and it was daunting. He hit the front in the straight at about the 200 and he was only run down late by a horse that tagged him into the race,” Berry said.
“He did all that off the back of only one trial.
“This is his second prep and he trialled really well against the older horses at Goulburn and won it quite comfortably, so he will come here in good order.
“He’s better than the $21 he’s priced at.”
Prepared by Neil Osborne, Beer Baron failed to attract interest from buyers at the yearling sales and was retained by the trainer and his family to race.
It is proving a fortuitous turn of events, the youngster already picking up not only $94,000 for his Nursery placing, but the race’s $200,000 Pink Bonus for the highest placed horse with a 75 per cent female ownership.
On Saturday, he will be competing for a share of $2 million, and while he might not be the most imposing horse in the parade ring, Berry describes Beer Baron as a “readymade” two-year-old.
“He’s very short between his neck and his hindquarters. He’s a big-barrelled horse but not very long,” Berry said.
“But he is very well put together.
“He’s readymade, he knows what he is doing. He’s got natural speed and he’s drawn well.”
Berry is also excited to have his first race ride on Moravia in the Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m) after missing the colt’s spring campaign through disqualification.
However, he partnered Moravia in the majority of his trackwork gallops and felt the Michael Freedman-trained three-year-old had returned a more professional horse, ironing out a couple of his kinks.
“He was still doing a bit wrong and wanting to hang in. We think we’ve got that out of him now,” Berry said.
“He was good in his trial and he has been good in his gallops since then.
“Only race pressure will tell where we’re at, but I think he can take the next step and be a force to be reckoned with over the carnival.”
