Begg to saddle up runners at Geelong
Multiple Group One-winning trainer Grahame Begg is excited about the start of a new phase of his career which begins when he saddles up runners at Geelong.
Begg stepped away from training in December 2014 after a successful career at Randwick in Sydney.
He recently moved to Victoria to begin training out of the Pinecliff training facility on the Mornington Peninsula and three-year-olds Emoji and Magic Word will be his first starters on Tuesday in maiden races.
“I’m quite excited to have the horses going to the races,” Begg said.
“I’m very pleased with the way things have gone so far, but obviously tomorrow there’s a transition from racing on grass to the synthetic which is a bit of an unknown for me because I’ve never had a runner on a synthetic track before.
“But more importantly it’s different for the horses.”
Begg said there had been no hiccups since he moved south about a month ago. He has half a dozen horses in training and a few others in pre-training.
“But we’re open for business and happy to take horses,” he said.
Among his team is Group-placed filly Mossin’ Around who is part-owned by Begg and formerly trained by John Thompson.
“She’s the headline horse,” Begg said, adding the rising four-year-old was likely to be ready to resume in mid-August.
Five of Mossin’ Around’s six starts have been in Melbourne racing anti-clockwise including her two Group placings.
Emoji, who Begg bought as a yearling, has had three starts in NSW and heads to Tuesday’s 1200m maiden after a first-up fourth at Kembla Grange last month, while Magic Word will be having his first start in a 1000m maiden.
“It’s just good to be able to have horses going to the races, and getting back into it,” he said.
Begg has prepared a number of top-class horses during his career including All Silent, Telesto, Monopolize, Secret Admirer and Bonanova.