Ken Casellas | Photo: PACEPIX
High-priced colt Ideal Beach has overcome a disturbing blemish and is on target to overcome a back-line barrier and emerge triumphant in the $125,000 APG Sales Classic for two-year-old colts and geldings at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The American Ideal youngster cast a shadow over his preparation for this week’s rich classic when he contested his first and only trial when he raced five back on the pegs before breaking into a fierce gallop and dropping back to last and finishing 67 metres behind the winner at Pinjarra on February 5.
“He had that one mishap in trials,” said his trainer Justin Prentice. “It was unexpected when he did things wrong, and we don’t know what caused it.”
Ideal Beach then showed that he was back on track when he gave a superb performance in a qualifying event at his race debut at Gloucester Park on Tuesday of last week when he began from the No. 6 barrier and raced three wide for 250m before getting to the breeze and then gaining a perfect trip in the one-out, one-back position with 1200m to travel.
Gary Hall Jnr then eased him three wide 550m from home and the colt sprinted strongly to burst to the front 300m later, on his way to winning by just over five lengths from Bettor Behave, who surged home from ninth at the 600m.
Ideal Beach, purchased for $130,000 at the 2024 Perth APG yearling sale, dashed over the final 400m in 28.9sec. and rated 1.56.8 over the 1730m journey. His gross time was 2min. 5.5sec. which was significantly faster than the time of 2min. 6.9sec. recorded by the other qualifying heat winner, Fear The Storm.
“I have always liked Ideal Beach and his win in the heat was very good,” said Prentice.
Ideal Beach is the solitary runner on the back line in Friday night’s race, and Hall will be looking to getting the colt involved in the action as soon as possible.
Fear The Storm, to be driven by Kyle Symington for trainer Ryan Bell, will begin from the No. 5 barrier, and the colt will have an army of supporters after his stylish victory in his qualifying heat when he started out wide at barrier eight.
Symington settled him down in ninth position, and he was eighth with 500m to travel before he impressed greatly with a splendid turn of foot which saw him burst to the front on the home turn and win by 4m from Cease To React.
The Michael Young-trained Cease To React had won in good style at his two previous outings. He will start from the No. 4 barrier with Stuart McDonald in the sulky.
Young will also be represented by Butter Me Up, who will be driven by Emily Suvaljko from barrier three. Butter Me Up ran on from seventh at the bell to finish fourth behind Ideal Beach in his heat.
Hopeland trainer Aiden de Campo fared poorly in the barrier draw, with Bettor Behave (barrier seven), Last King Of Capel (eight) and Wheelsofortune (nine) out wide at the start. He will drive Bettor Behave, who appeals as the best of his three runners.