Half-Brother to New SW Ocean Beyond a 2021 Karaka Book 1 Highlight

A horse that caught the eye of trainer Daniel Bowman at the 2019 Ready to Run Sale at Karaka is now an unbeaten stakes winner in Victoria. 

Ocean Beyond (NZ) (Ocean Park), who was initially passed in at Karaka with a reserve of $60,000, scored an impressive victory in Saturday’s A$140,000 Listed McMahon’s Dairy McKenzie Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley. Ocean Beyond has now had two starts for two wins, earning A$97,650.

“I really liked him at the Ready to Run Sale,” Bowman said on Saturday. “His breeze up wasn’t particularly impressive, he did a lot wrong there, but I just liked the animal at the sale.

“He had a bit of a throat issue at the time and was passed in, but Waikato Stud were good enough – Mike Rennie, through my association with him, and Mark Chittick – to take him home and get him over that for a couple of months. Then we bought him. This is a great result.”

Ridden on Saturday by Harry Coffey, Ocean Beyond sat outside the front-running Deep Speed (Deep Field) before quickening smartly in the home straight and stretching out to win by half a length. The rest of the field finished another three lengths behind the first pair.

“That was really pleasing,” Coffey said. “He did everything today. He bounced, he rolled across, he relaxed nicely and quickened at the end.

"How good he is, I probably don't know. Daniel (Bowman) thinks he's pretty good. He's happy with him. All they can do is do what we ask, and he did that today. Pretty lucky to be on him.”

Bowman believes the best is yet to come for the maturing three-year-old.

“Since we gave him his first gallop, we’ve known he goes good,” he said. “It’s just been a matter of looking after him until his head’s right.

“Going from a Geelong maiden into a stakes race is something you don’t see our stable do too often, so some ears probably pricked when we did that with this horse. It’s paid off today.

“We’ll probably tip him out now. He’s still very fine and has a bit of filling out to do. We’ll put him out for a bit of a spell, then bring him back for the autumn. Now that our rating is up, we can set a target for him.”

Waikato Stud will offer a Savabeel half-brother to Ocean Beyond in Karaka 2021. The colt will go through the ring as Lot 412. Their dam, Frankly (NZ) (Pins), has produced three winners from three foals to race.