Northern Beaches kicks off spring campaign in style
It may only have been a midweek maiden, but connections of $1 million yearling Northern Beaches would undoubtedly have breathed a sigh of relief after his win at Canterbury on Wednesday.
The three-year-old colt by Not A Single Doubt was yet to win from four starts, but he got the monkey off his back in fine style in the opening race under James McDonald.
The half-brother to the Group-performed Aylmerton and Arnaqueur was bought by Coolmore at the 2021 Inglis Australia Easter Yearling Sale, before the likes of Woppitt Bloodstock, Sir Peter Vela and Peachester Lodge purchased shares in him.
Trained by Chris Waller, Northern Beaches holds nominations for both the Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas later in the spring, so it was pleasing for the stable to get the maiden victory out of the way.
The blueblood Northern Beaches takes the gap and bursts through to win with authority! 🏖️@mcacajamez timing things perfectly for @cwallerracing and @CoolmoreAus. pic.twitter.com/JM1BEojqWa
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) August 17, 2022
“He’s always shown us plenty of ability,” said Waller’s racing manager, Charlie Duckworth.
“I think we basically got forced to run him early just because he was showing enough at home, but ultimately he just wasn’t physically mature enough.
“Now he’s matured, he’s going to be a lovely three-year-old for us. He’s a cracking colt and did it all really well.”
With bigger targets in mind in the coming months, Duckworth said the stable won’t be mucking around with him, with the colt now likely to head straight back to black-type races.
“It was more about trying to get the win on the board today and then he’ll be back into the feature races coming into the spring,” he said.
“An exciting win to get on the board today – the monkey is off his back – and hopefully he can go on with it.
“Obviously, Wednesday grade up to Group races is as big old jump, but him being able to overcome the stop-start tempo of the way his race was run, probably shows that he’s got the class to do it.”
Following his maiden victory, Northern Beaches firmed into $26 for the Caulfield Guineas, which will be run on October 8 over the mile.