South Australian trainer Paul Beshara, best known for guiding crowd favourite Happy Trails to G1 success a decade ago, has passed away after a long illness.
Racing SA announced the news on Saturday afternoon, paying tribute to Happy Trails as “the chestnut warrior who became a symbol of perseverance and belief under Paul’s care’’.
Purchased for just $11,000 as a yearling, Happy Trails became one of Australian racing’s great stories, rising to win three Group 1 races and amassing nearly $3.3 million in prizemoney.
A stalwart of the spring, Happy Trails contested five editions of the Cox Plate and appeared at the Cox Plate meeting for seven consecutive years from 2010. His closest brush with glory came in 2013 when he finished runner-up to Shamus Award.
Beshara’s legacy is indelibly linked with the popular chestnut’s underdog journey, which resonated with racegoers across the country.
