Reece Goodwin does not expect Bermondsey to be at Caulfield on Blue Diamond Day, but he is a little chuffed that the gelding will play a part in the Blue Diamond series.
The son of Hanseatic, whose maternal side features a past winner of the Blue Diamond Stakes, makes his debut in Saturday’s $250,000 Blue Diamond Colts & Geldings Preview.
The 1000-metre Listed event will be run around 18 months after Goodwin took a punt on the then-weanling out of the Merrick’s Station draft at Inglis’s Great Southern Sale.
He was far from a target lot, but Goodwin was caught by his size, the fact he was a first-crop member of an early runner and, most importantly, affordable.
Goodwin got him for just $2000.
“In all honesty, I didn’t even inspect him until he was in the pre-parade ring,” Goodwin recalled.
“But he was a good size and his page wasn’t full of Black Type, but there was a half-brother that Aaron Laing trained called Illuminance that had not long ago ran in the Inglis Millennium, and ran well, and he raced well as a two-year-old so I just thought it might be a two-year-old family.
“Hanseatic was a two-year-old and he was a bit of an unknown (as a sire) to go with it, so we splashed out, I kept him myself and here we are in a Blue Diamond Preview.”
Saturday’s race at Sandown is a fitting entrance for Bermondsey and not just because his Rosemont Stud-based sire won a Blue Diamond Preview, before also winning a Prelude ahead of a second placing in the Blue Diamond.
Bermondsey is out of the Flying Spur mare Gin Lizzie, whose fourth dam Forina won the 1974 Blue Diamond.
She also is the dam of Biscarina, who won a Widden Stakes but is best-known as the dam of champion sprinter Schillaci.
Schillaci’s sister Sabrina Fair is the granddam of Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes winner Voodoo Lad, while Group 1 Tatt’s Tiara winner Russeting is also part of the family.
They are big names and while Goodwin is not predicting Bermondsey will scale similar heights, the chestnut has been a model student to this point.
“He’s always been a pretty sensible horse and has always had a beautiful, big action on him,” he said.
“He’s probably not really built for 1000 metres, I think he’s going to be a much better 1200, 1400-metre horse and also a much better three-year-old.
“But he’s always had a good attitude, is clean-winded and he’s always educated up well and done everything right, which is why he finds himself there Saturday.”
That, plus the fact he is not exactly dealing with a vintage edition of the boys’ Preview.
This year’s event attracted only seven acceptors, which is down to six after the scratching of Tentyris with favourite Shining Smile the only one who has been to the races.
Even if he runs last, Bermondsey will pocket $5000 – two-and-a-half times his purchase price.
“I never even had this race in my mind and then I got the text message that nominations were extended, so I had a look and the more I looked at it the more I thought it wasn’t that strong,” Goodwin said.
“I still wasn’t convinced I was going to accept, but as I was watching the progressives happen there were a few that I was a little bit concerned about that were taken out.
“So, it ended up with only seven and only one of them had raced before and two of the others were also trained out of Pakenham and have been in similar jumpouts to him.
“The other key factor for me was the meeting was scheduled for Caulfield, but getting to Sandown suits him better too, it’s a lovely long run in from chute, and he’ll get a chance to balance up.”
Michael Dee, who this weekend makes his metropolitan return after almost two months off due to injury, will take the ride on Bermondsey with the pair to start from barrier two.
Unlike many others engaged on Saturday, the Preview is not a trial for a crack at the Blue Diamond for Bermondsey, who Goodwin expects to be in the paddock well before that $2 million Group 1 is run at Caulfield on February 22.
“I think everyone will see on the day that he’s going to look a lot different to the other horses, I’d say he’ll be a lot taller and leggier,” Goodwin said.
“He’ll probably go the paddock after this. We’ll put him away, watch him develop and grow up and he’ll be a better horse next time in.”
