New Zealand-bred juvenile Beau Dazzler was thrown in at the deep end for Saturday’s A$200,000 Listed Eureka Stud Phelan Ready Stakes (1000m) at Eagle Farm, and he rose to the occasion with a bold black-type win.
The Ardrossan colt was making only the second start of his career on Saturday, having debuted with a second placing in a 1000m race at Toowoomba on November 25.
After settling at the back among a field of only four, Beau Dazzler and jockey Robbie Dolan came across heels in the straight and set out after the front-running Mishani Explorer and Butwedid.
Beau Dazzler began to move through his gears and lengthen stride, and despite racing greenly and having his head to the side, he finished over the top of the leading pair to win impressively by half a length.
“I don't think you'll find a horse that will try to get himself beaten as much as he did then,” said Maddysen Sears, who trains in partnership with her father Tony.
“He's very green. We never expected him to race this early to be honest. He's surprised us, but I think he's got a bright future when he starts thinking about being a racehorse.”
Beau Dazzler was offered by Mapperley Stud in Book 2 of Karaka 2023, where he was bought for $85,000 by Paul Moroney Bloodstock, Catheryne Bruggeman and Sears Racing.
The Phelan Ready Stakes is often used as a stepping stone towards the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m) on the Gold Coast a month later, but this year’s edition has the potential to be a springboard to a very different race for sales graduates. Beau Dazzler is eligible for the TAB Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie on January 27, and the talented colt’s trainers have indicated that they are open to the possibility of making the trans-Tasman trip. Beau Dazzler’s earnings of A$120,150 put him clearly at the top of the order of entry for the $1 million feature.
Beau Dazzler became the first Australian stakes winner for promising Waikato Stud stallion Ardrossan, who has also been represented by Codigo, Loch Katrine and Saltcoats in New Zealand.
Bred by the Dewar Partnership, Beau Dazzler is out of the Pentire mare Pwerfect, who comes from the family of northern hemisphere Group One stars such as Fame And Glory and Legatissimo.