Beasley back with a bang

It is doubtful jockey Danny Beasley will remember Kranji Mile Day as one of his career highlights.

Getting well beaten on the favourite Lim’s Kosciuszko stung the most. 

Coming home empty-handed added further insult to injury.

It did not help that the Australian hoop was also going through a quiet spell. He had only one winner, Snip, last month.

To top it all off, he was rubbed out for one day for careless riding on Surrey Hills at the end of that most forgettable Kranji Mile meeting on May 21.

Funnily, the visit to the Stewards’ room turned out to be the only silver lining. 

By deferring the suspension one week later, given he had already been booked for the May 28 meeting, the timing of the “enforced holiday” worked out well.

“I haven’t seen my mum and dad for two years because of Covid-19. With the borders reopening, I thought it was the best time to fly back home during the suspension,” said Beasley, who is married to a Singaporean and they have three young children.

“The whole family went and spent 19 fantastic days in Wagga Wagga, where I grew up. It was also my 47th birthday on June 3, so that was a nice bonus.”

Beasley, who made a successful comeback from a four-year hiatus last year, returned to Singapore on Thursday.

The recharged and hungry jockey did not take long to give local racegoers another reminder why he is considered one of the best in the business at Kranji.

Though he was getting to know the James Peters-trained Amore Amore ($33) for the first time in the $50,000 Bold Thruster 2019 Stakes Class 4 race over the Polytrack mile, not many would have guessed it from his supremely confident handling of the Champions Gallery five-year-old.

He could have been caught on a limb. But he took a chance by pressing on three wide from the half-mile point to secure the lead.

Beasley, however, admitted it was not so much a genius masterstroke he had hatched by himself.

“I watched his previous replays. Marc Lerner rode him like that when he won, so did Louis Beuzelin, and they were both on the Polytrack mile,” he said.

“They were positive rides when they moved down the back and I was just being a copycat. We got a beautiful drag around the first turn.

“He’s a one-batter who needs to get going with a long sustained run. It was probably the strongest race he’s faced, but he’s done a good job.

“He didn’t go well under the pouring rain last time. Getting up in trip to get to the mile was the key – and all credit should go to James and his team.

“He seems to have a liking for the Polytrack. He’ll get a few points and can now run in a Class 3 race – look out for him.”

Peters was “over the moon” with Amore Amore’s fifth success for Hong Kong outfit Lucky Unicorn Stable and the fourth for him.

“He ran enormous. He had to work hard to go to the front,” said the in-form British trainer.

“Danny took a hold of him, gave him a breather and he was strong to the line. Danny struggled to pull him up.

“I think he’ll get further. He seems to enjoy the Polytrack.

“He’ll be up in Class 3 now and I’ll look for something similar.

“He’s done a terrific job with four wins for me. I’m over the moon.”

After a treble the previous week, Peters followed up with a double, courtesy of another well-rated front-running ride from Mohd Zaki aboard $121 outsider Fort Mustang in the $30,000 Conflight 2016 Stakes, a Class 5 event over the Polytrack 1,700m.