McArdle and Mott strike again at The Valley with Beau Rada
THE trainer and jockey partnership of John McArdle and Jamie Mott struck early at Moonee Valley on Friday with debutante Doubt I’m Dreaming and they were at it again when Beau Rada won the Inglis 55 Second Challenge.
The Moonee Valley specialist customarily dropped back to the rear of the field before Mott presenting it in the straight. The now four-time winner on this track showed its devastating sprint over the concluding stages to narrowly down Sunday Escape and Sirbible on the line.
Punters got a great price of $11 at CrownBet.com.au for the five-year-old which loves running over this distance on the night circuit.
“His record here is great and he’s a specialist here,” Mott said.
“I had the head down, I was pushing as hard as I could. He had a good enough run coming through and when he gets that run his turn-of-foot is unbelievable at Moonee Valley over this trip.”
Mott wasn’t completely sure whether he got up in the shadows of the post, but the son of Hard Spun drove hard and found the line strongly.
“I had the head down, I was pushing as hard as I could,” Mott added.
The winner was the second of the night for Mott, who said he is expecting a newborn in the near future.
“I’m really enjoying myself and I’ll say hello to my wife – we’re due a baby in two weeks,” he said.
John McArdle was confident coming into the race based off its track work earlier in the week.
“Jamie rode him on Tuesday morning and said that’s probably the best work he’s felt him had,” McArdle said.
“We just kept him fresh after he won here last start – he loves this place.”
McArdle was concerned about drawing the inside barrier, but Mott showed plenty of patience and waited for the runs to appear.
“Barrier one was a big concern because he gets into an awkward spot and I thought he had again tonight, but when Jamie got him out he was confident he had the horse underneath him and luckily he did,” McArdle said.
Beau Rada has now won this race in consecutive years and McArdle hasn’t ruled out Beau Rada coming back again for a third.
“We’ll probably come back and try win it the third year in a row,” he said. “He won it last year and he’s won it this year, we’ll try go for the three-peat.”
McArdle also made comment about Doubt I’m Dreaming which won earlier in the night. He stated that he has since had numerous offers for purchase of the juvenile.
“He pulled up a treat, he’s a dead-set prize,” McArdle said. “We had a fair few (offers) so far, but at this stage I don’t think the owners are overly interested.”
He was asked about whether the offers exceeded the $1 million price mark and being a colt has its advantages.
“A million would be the shortest price. That’s why he’s going to be well more than a million,” he added.