Here are the 10 greatest Group One wins of Darren Beadman’s super career. In all Beadman rode 94 Group One winners. This list is based on the quality of the ride and how Darren managed to get the most out of his mount. Enjoy.
10. Kingston Rule. 1990 Melbourne Cup.
This is still the fastest Melbourne Cup ever run in the 153 year history of the race. Beadman managed to jump his mount well from an inside barrier and for the entire journey before the home turn, Kingston Rule travelled beautifully on the fence. At no stage during the 3200m did Beadman panic and look for a run early. He instead just waited and waited on the rail. About 400m from home, with minimal effort Beadman got the stayer going and he went around the two leaders and the race was over. For the entire race, Kingston Rule only went around two horses and that was in the last 300m. It was a perfect ride especially for a 3200m handicap race. If betfair was around in 1990, Kingston Rule would have been $1.05 shortly before straightening; this is due to the ride Beadman gave the entire. The way Beadman just waited and waited and snatched the initiative when the gap opened is a testament to a great rider.
9. Juggler. 1996 Doomben Cup.
Juggler was a bridesmaid on so many occasions, but on this day Beadman rode a perfect race to give the gelding a much deserved Group One win. In this race Beadman produced a textbook perfect ride and his skill was the main reason that Juggler was able to beat All Our Mob and Doriemus. Both All Our Mob and Doriemus were much more successful than Juggler but they had only 0.5kg more than the Gai Waterhouse trained gelding. Even so, Beadman managed to save every ounce of energy he could and despite being on the bad end of the weights, Juggler lifted for the champion hoop to record a one length win over the two multiple Group One winning stayers.
8. Lonhro. 2004 Australian Cup.
This is probably the most celebrated win of Beadman’s career despite it being a fairly average ride. We have all seen Lonhro getting knocked down time after time in the straight in the race footage. Lonhro lost momentum at least three times yet Beadman still managed to lift him off the canvas to run down a three-year-old in a WFA race. This race contained Makybe Diva, Elvstroem and Mummify yet even with the torrid run, Lonhro still managed to win. Darren Beadman is the first to admit this was a horrible ride, but there is no doubt Beadmans’s class and ability was what got Lonhro up in the straight. This was Lonhro’s last win in Melbourne and perhaps if Darren Beadman was not aboard, the super stallion might not have found the courage to get up again and again and win. Whereas Kingston Rule would have been $1.05 in the run in the 1990 Melbourne Cup; Lonhro would have been 50-1 after his third bad check in the home straight. Lonhro won because of the Beadman magic.
7. Octagonal. 1996 AJC Derby.
Octagonal looked as if he was happy to do the minimum he could as long as he was going to win. However it took a very strong and determine jockey to get him over the line and Beadman rode him beautifully over the 2400m in the AJC Derby in 1996. Beadman managed to place Octagonal back in the field and basically when the whips were cracking, Beadman almost lifted the huge horse over the line. The first four this day was Nothin’ Leica Dane who was very hard to get past, Saintly who was a champion and Filante who won loads of Group Ones and almost two Cox Plates. It was the clear best Derby in the last 20 years and it took a gun three-year-old along with a champion jockey to win. Again, Octagonal seemed happy to sit back and just do what he wanted and usually won by just an inch or two. But on this day, there was no way a lazy Octagonal could win, so Beadman got him fired up and brought out his best.
6. Saintly. 1996 Cox Plate.
The pace was hot in this race and Beadman knew it so he lobbed Saintly at the rear of the field making sure that only Octagonal was behind him. The field was strung out for much of the race and with a stroke of genius Beadman knew exactly what horses ahead of him would be hard to beat in the run. Beadman started his run at ‘Makybe Diva Corner’ and as it turns out, the future champ Saintly won by a nose. The only reason Saintly won was because of the perfect ride Beadman gave him; Saintly was let loose at the perfect time, allowed to balance up after straightening then was urged home by Beadman. In this race Filante was off and gone, and Filante was a gun. But Beadman managed to get his mount over the line and complete the first leg of the rare Cox Plate / Melbourne Cup double.
Tune in to the Home Of Racing tomorrow for a detailed description of Beadman’s Top Five Group One Victories.
By Zeb Armstrong
