Brendon Hill’s the first to admit he wasn’t much of a fan of Beaudiene Delightful when she first arrived at his place.
But he’s starting to warm to the wonderfully bred filly and if she keeps producing performances like the one she laid on the table at Timaru yesterday then the relationship between trainer and horse is going to be just fine.
A daughter of grand producing mare, Beaudiene Babe who has left notable performers Beaudiene Bad Babe, Guns N Roses and also Beaudiene Boaz, Beaudiene Delightful broke maidens at start No.2 and there’s the promise of more to come still.
“Big dreams for her, whether we get to them or not, I’m not sure,” Hill said.
“She’s got all the makings of being a really nice horse but we won’t be pushing her. She can find her own way forward from here and we will see where we end up.”
After originally doing stints with Mark Smolenski and then Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen, Beaudiene Delightful found her way to Hill’s stable through an association with breeder Dave Kennedy who also bred Pay Me Interest who Hill is training.
“Mark Purdon had suggested she might have been better served at a stable that was smaller with someone who could spend a bit more time working with her.
“When she first came she caused a bit of trouble, but we have slowly ironed most of them out I think.
“She went fantastic at Rangiora first up and then was very good winning.”
With a bright future in front of her and a driver in Ricky May who is keen to stick with the ship, Hill is being careful not to get too far ahead of himself. As he knows time will be his best friend.
“I’m thinking we might take a look at a run in the C1 grade at Ashburton and then, all going well there is a race for her on Show Day I think, so we do have some options.”
Her win yesterday took Hill’s tally to seven winners from 18 starters, a flying start for a small, but select racing team.
“I’ve learnt a few things in the past few seasons about placing horses and I would like to think I’m getting better at finding the right races for the right horses.
“There’s a bit of a running joke that I never used to know where Oamaru was because I tended to focus on the bigger meetings in Canterbury, but I’m learning all the time.
“The way the season has started has been great, the team is going so well.
“Horses like Rummage and Cruzy Dude going great each week and it certainly helps going to the races feeling confident about your chances.”
Matt Markham