AFTER taking out the Scone Cup on Friday, new trainer Darren Beadman’s Godolphin team arrives at Kembla Grange with a shot at a winning treble.
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![Winning beginning: The Godolphin team, now trained by Darren Beadman, will have three starters at Kembla Grange. Picture: Getty Images Winning beginning: The Godolphin team, now trained by Darren Beadman, will have three starters at Kembla Grange. Picture: Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc6uvpjqgghzd1ltw56kuy.jpg/r0_0_3423_2282_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Taking over the Australian arm of the global empire from John O’Shea has had the racing industry abuzz this week, his first winner saluting at Canterbury on Wednesday.
And he continued the early success, when well-backed filly Sisken won on Friday over 1300m, before Luca Valentinois swamped them late to take out the Scone Cup in scintillating fashion.
Jeff Penza will be aboard the team’s trio at the Illawarra Turf Club, with three-year-old gelding Obscura, filly Angharad and top-weighted Polemic, trying to break his maiden at the seventh start.
Beadman praised jockey Michael Dee’s ride on Luca Valentinois, who upstaged Melbourne Cup winner Kerrin McEvoy on stablemate Moher, with God’s In Him second and Pajaro third.
“I thought he was a realistic chance,” he said.
“I thought the ground was a bit firm from the other day at Hawkesbury (Cup day on April 29) and he drew off the track.
“He just never really got into his rhythm and was hard to make up ground, they kept on running, the race never changed complexion all day.
“But Mick has ridden a bit for us in Melbourne and I’m tipping he’d be pretty stoked.”
Earlier this week, Beadman told Fairfax there will be no major Godolphin training and racing plans since taking over from O’Shea.
“I just want to keep things going the way they were because it was working well,” Beadman said. “To be one of the main trainers for Sheikh Mohammed is a big job and it is an honour but there is a lot of responsibility with it. We just want to keep getting winners.”
However, Godolphin face challengers from the Kembla Grange-based trainers, with Angharad, favourite in the Class 2 Handicap (1400m) poised to be challenged by the Mick Tubman-trained Red Henno. With two wins from six starts, Tubman’s four-year-old is likely to set the pace from the outside barrier, with the Nowra and Kembla Grange-based Rob and Luke Price-trained Elouera also putting pressure on Angharad for early tempo.
Polemic, in the Camp Quality Maiden Handicap over 1600m, has been a source of frustration for the Godolphin camp, placed on four occasions, including most recently two lengths third over 1400m at Randwick on Anzac Day.
Chris Waller’s Monaterio, a top three finisher in all six starts, is expected to start favourite ahead of Beadman’s other runner Obscura, in the Class 1 race over 2000m.
![Michael Tubman Michael Tubman](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/dc5syd-5xw8cecf9hsxbj05l5m.jpg/r0_283_4896_2851_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)