Anthony Freedman wasn’t bullish in his expectations of Beskar in the Darby Munro Stakes, but nor did he believe the three-year-old should have started such “stupid odds”.
The second outsider of the field at $81, the gelding caught most punters on the hop when he raced handy to the speed and packed too many punches to deny Agarwood ($19) and a flying Caffe Florian ($12).
“To be fair, he should never have been that. He did run third in a Group Three last start, so $80 is probably ridiculous,” Freedman said.
“It’s still a bit of a surprise.
“He’s a horse that’s got good talent. He does a lot wrong and makes a mess of a few races, but it all went (well) for him today.
“He ran third in the Kindergarten Stakes here last year, so maybe this works better for him, in Sydney.”
Beskar’s Kindergarten Stakes (1100m) placing came at just his second start, and while his winter and spring form was mixed, he did indicate he’d returned in good order with a solid third behind Pallaton in the Zeditave Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield last month.
Freedman said there had never been doubt over his talent, but he had been plagued by niggling issues, and it had taken time to learn how to best manage him.
“He’s sound now, and we train him very differently,” Freedman said.
“We don’t do any work with him. It takes a while to work some horses out.
“He’s one of those horses who is never one hundred per cent. You get him as good as he can be and keep him happy and don’t work him.”
The Group 2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint (1200m) at Randwick on April 11 is a logical option for Saturday’s Darby Munro Stakes (1200m) winner, although Freedman admits he hasn’t contemplated the next stop in the horse’s program.
“I hadn’t looked that far. We will think about it,” he said.
The Darby Munro Stakes has been won by some handy horses, notably Autumn Glow 12 months ago.
