Brazen Beau Draws First Blood

Above: Easy as you like General Beau looks a natural (Brett Holburt/Racing Photos)

A good deal of joy for the sponsors of Wednesday’s Darley Spring Preview (900m) at Flemington with Contract Racing’s homebred Brazen Beau colt General Beau looking the consummate professional in capturing the first-two-year-old race of the season.

Ridden by Jamie Kah for trainers Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra, General Beau eased across the face of the field from his outside barrier to sit on the outside of the Written Tycoon colt Finance Tycoon and that pair would fight the race out.

General Beau took control of the race at the 200 metres and won untouched by two and a quarter lengths.

Darley’s Northwood Park showpiece would take plenty of positives from the fighting third of the Godolphin homebred filly The Globe.

After racing greenly when obliged to race three wide without cover, the first southern hemisphere runner for the top-class Frosted (USA) stuck to her guns in the closing stages to finish three-quarters of a length behind Finance Tycoon.

Mathew Ellerton indicated the Listed Maribyrnong Trial would be the immediate target for the son of Brazen Beau.

“That’s the fastest we’ve asked him to go, he got there pretty quick and has been a natural all the way through,” Ellerton said.

“We might look at Saturday week. I imagine he will go home and eat up. He’s adept at the straight now so he will have two looks at it.

“He’s a strong little horse He is one of those that came in a bit rough at the start of his prep. It took ten days to knock the edge off him and he has improved ever since.”

Bred and raced by David and Jenny Moodie and Nick and Gayle Psaltis, General Beau is the second winner from three to race out of the lightly raced Lonhro mare Phosphorescence who is a half-sister to stakes-placed Double Jeopardy (Exceed and Excel) out of the top-class Nediym’s Glow (General Nediym) whose four wins included the Group III Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes and Group III Blue Diamond Prelude..

Phosphorescence has a yearling filly by Nicconi and a colt foal by Shamus Award.