​Begood Toya Mother (Myboycharlie x Lady Of Helena) continued his remarkable preparation with a ‘workman like’ win at Flemington on Saturday. The gelding was obviously fancied in the market and started well and truly odds on. Apart from a fleeting moment at about the 300m mark, punters, owners and connections had nothing to fear.
Begood Toya Mother is a perfect example of a gelding that is going through his grades and developing confidence as he does it. He has won four in a row – he carried 58kg to win on Saturday in Benchmark 78, so from here on, the logical step is to keep ‘stepping up’ in grade. Should the gelding tick all the boxes in the next few weeks, he will most likely head to Caulfield on the 1st of June. But make no mistake… we know what this boy is capable of, and it takes a really nice horse to win four in a row. Should he win five in a row, it will most likely mean Begood Toya Mother, will have a freshen up before he is aimed at some spring riches.
Come the springtime, he will have to take another step up, so it is great to see this preparation that he can win from the back, the front or locked up in the middle of the field. He has a will to win, that we wish all our horses processed, and he can carry weight. 
So pencil Begood Toya Mother in for one more start this prep, then underline his name in your black book and look for him when the footy finals are starting to be decided. 

​Sometimes after Warrnambool comes and goes and the Doncaster and so on in Sydney have finished, there is a certain flatness surrounding the racing industry. But it is at this time of year that all the preparations for the future can take place. For example, at Bowman Racing we have a splendid filly by I Am Invincible out of a successful mare in Lonhspresso. This yearling can’t race until she is two, but it is now that we can put the work into her and see if she might be an early runner.
The first major two-year-old races are held in Sydney in September, before the likes of the Maribyrnong Plate and the Inglis races kick off in Melbourne. A precocious yearling has to be well and truly in work by now as to be ready for a potential race in October. There are still shares in this filly available, and from everything we have seen she is the type of filly that does everything very easily. It is these youngsters that are ‘top of the class’ and are the ones that maybe, with a bit of luck we nominate for black type races in the future.
Things certainly don’t stop over winter – in fact it is during these months that we can get our spring horses perfect, as well as our horses that enjoy wet tracks into the winner’s circle. Here’ hoping!   

​Well the ‘Bool has come and gone for another year. The Grand Annual was a terrific race with the best horse winning. The Wangoom saw the best ride winning, while the Galleywood saw the cream of the crop battle it out with a local horse winning.
For us, it was a magnificent three days with two winners and a nice 3rd placing from our six runners.
Tuesday saw Nashville Sound (Clangalang x Shezout), because of his noted wet track breeding, and impeccable form, run around as a short price favourite. Perhaps at the 400m punters, and indeed us might have had a slight heart palpitation or two as the gelding was back in the field. However, he let down with a brilliant sprint at the end of the 2350m journey and won with authority. This performance may have been good enough to run some kind of a race in the Warrnambool Cup, but as the son of Clangalang was having just his 8th start, the right decision was clearly made to contest the BM78 Handicap.
Not many horses win with such authority of races at near a mile and a half at just their 8th start. This indicates progression personified and will see Nashville Sound being very competitive in his future races over this trip and further.
While Nashville Sound was backed heavily and won accordingly, Labuan Star (Bel Esprit x Racy Alice) was friendless in betting. Perhaps it was the 61kg; maybe it was seemingly mediocre first run for the stable. If a shroud punter was to track back through Labuan Star’s form, they would see that without a doubt, this horse was the best horse in this race – hence the 61kg. Then despite being unluckily wide for the entire trip and facing a strong head wind when the tempo was being lifted, this gelding showed his best. The horse he beat by an inch had every right to run straight past him, but under the urgings of Harry Coffey, Labuan Star didn’t give in and won in tenacious fashion.
Congratulations to the owner of these two geldings. Any win on any given day is someone’s Cox Plate – and a win at the ‘Bool is as special as anywhere. Both these horse look to have big preps ahead with Labuan Star most likely heading towards the Golden Topaz in Swan Hill. We will let the dust settle with Nashville Sound but with him having missed a place just once in eight starts (he ran 5th beaten a length!), the sky is the limit.
Well done to all on another great May Carnival!     ​