The amazing story of Beach Beauty should be told to the international press this week as the next chapter in an incredible story unfolds with her daughter Beach Bomb running in the Gr 1 US$2million Breeders Cup Filly And Mare Turf over a mile and three furlongs.
Beach Beauty was raced in honour of the late Mark Armitage by a group of family and friends and she was bred by Mark’s father Trevor, a renowned breeder from a renowned breeding family in South Africa.
Mark tragically passed away at a young age.
Horseracing was one of his favourite pastimes.
He had grown up on a thoroughbred stud farm owned and run by his father and later ran his own successful wood treatment business from the stud farm too.
Mark loved attending the races and the sadness surrounding his premature passing led to much reminiscing about the wonderful times friends and family had shared with him, including annually at the picnic site they used to hire at South Africa’s biggest race meeting, the Durban July.
One of his best friends from University, Warren Kidd, thus decided to found a racing syndicate in his honour.
Mark Armitage had acquired the nickname “Shanks” at university and this would be amusing to South Africans, because the most popular porcelain toilet brand in the country is called Armitage Shanks.
The syndicate was thus named “The Shanks Syndicate”.
The Shanks syndicate comprised Warren, Mark’s widow Ruth, his father Trevor and also friends Anthony Erswell and John Bescoby. The latter was a well known owner and racing administrator and Ruth had met Mark while working for John’s travel company and attending a company function at a racemeeting.
One of Mark’s other favourite pastimes was birdwatching and Warren remembered how immensely excited he had been upon spotting a bird that is rarely seen, the Narina Trogon.
“I’d never seen anyone so excited about anything, let alone a bird,” recalled Warren.
The Shanks Syndicate colours were therefore a copy of the colourful Narina Trogon, which has a red body, a green crest and grey wings with black tips.
The next move was to find a horse to lease and Trevor chose the farm’s most promising youngster, a tiny filly with a lovely action, by Durban July winner Dynasty out of broodmare Sun Coast. Beach Beauty was named by Mark’s eldest of three daughters, Kate.
Summerveld training centre veteran Dennis Drier was chosen as the trainer.
Dennis recalled the first time he clapped eyes on the tiny Dynasty filly on the Armitage farm near Volksrust in northern KZN, “She had very true conformation, everything was in the right place. She had beautiful length of rein, a beautiful big, bold eye and a nice rounded bum. I thought she was a bit on the small side, but at that stage I didn’t realise the size of her heart.”
Trevor used to allow his horses to roam around the farm among the cattle and this could have been a reason Beach Beauty proved to be impeccably sound and amazingly tough.
The Shanks Syndicate members used to visit Beach Beauty regularly at her Summerveld stable and Warren Kidd’s wife Laura remembered initially viewing Beach Beauty as not much more than a sweet little horse, who was a joy to visit on a family day out.
Beach Beauty made her debut at Clairwood racecourse over 1450m and after making a promising run in the straight she suddenly produced an electric burst of speed in the final stages to win by three lengths.
The rest is history as Beach Beauty went on to become “the darling of the South African turf” and that electric burst of speed she possessed became her hallmark. She had 31 starts for 17 wins and ten places and her wins included five Gr 1s, ranging from 1600m to 1800m, six Gr 2s, ranging from 1400m to 2000m, and one Gr 3.
Beach Beauty and jockey Sean Cormack became a formidable partnership that was loved by punters because together they never once failed to convert her “meeting banker” status that she was given prior to numerous big race meetings.
Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud purchased Beach Beauty after her racing career was over.
Prominent Shanks syndicate member John Bescoby recounted that upon arrival at Drakenstein Stud Beach Beauty was put into a paddock with her former Drier yard stablemate Schiffer, a useful sprinter by Var, and the latter reportedly became fiercely protective of her tiny colleague. When they were later moved into a more populated paddock, Schiffer would chase any other mare that came close to Beach Beauty off before returning to her side.
This year saw a new chapter in the amazing Beach Beauty story.
Ten years after she had run her last race, a win in the Gr 1 Garden Province Stakes over 1600m at Greyville, she was named Equus Champion Broodmare (South Africa’s national thoroughbred awards). She had thus added another Equus Award to the two she had won as a racehorse.
The 2007-born Beach Beauty has had six foals to date and six runners and five winners. The only one not to have won has only had one start.
All five of her winners have earned black type.
Her first foal by Trippi was called Wild Coast and he won the Gr 2 KZN Guineas and is now standing at stud.
Her second foal by Duke Of Marmalade was called Rex Union and he was second and third in successive years in the Gr 3 Gold Vase over 3000m, third in the country’s premier staying race, the Gr 3 Gold Cup over 3200m, and he was Listed-placed too.
Her third foal called Amamzimtoti was a filly by Trippi and she won a Gr 2.
Her next foal by Silvano was fittingly called Narina Trogon and he has won three Listed races to date.
Her fifth foal by the late Lancaster Bomber was called Beach Bomb and she will add yet another chapter to the Beach Beauty fairytale when she runs in the Breeders Cup Filly And Mare Turf on Saturday.
She is even smaller than Beach Beauty. In fact, she is so small that the jockey’s head sometimes appears to be above her ears.
Beach Bomb won two prestigious Gr 1s in South Africa, the WSB Cape Fillies Guineas and the Cartier Paddock Stakes over 1800m. By winning the lattter race she had emulated her mother, although Beach Beauty won it twice.
Beach Bomb was trained in South Africa by Candice Bass-Robinson, who will be in the crowd watching her on Saturday.
In the USA she has been sent out twice by Graham Motion for a second and third and was running on well both times.
Drakenstein Stud not only bred her but race her. It will be a thoroughly deserving moment for Gaynor Rupert to have a runner at the Breeders Cup as she has done an immense amount for South African racing, not only through the bloodstock she has imported and bred, but also through her work in transforming the L’Ormarins Queen’sPlate/King’s Plate meeting into the “Royal Ascot” of SA racing.
Beach Bomb’s late father Lancaster Bomber ironically ran in the first ever Del Mar hosted Breeders Cup meeting in 2017 and finished second in the Breeders Cup Mile at 10/1 odds.
Beach Bomb has drawn eleven in the Filly and Mare turf and will be ridden for the second time in succession by Antonio Fresu.
John Bescoby often becomes quite emotional when talking about Beach Beauty as it is a scarcely believable fairytale and he said recently, “It is a fantastic story that started with a filly of whom we had no expectations and she became such a darling of the turf, everybody knew her by the time of her retirement. And then to produce what she has produced, that is outstanding.”
He continued, “Beach Bomb is a great name too, isn’t it, because you know you could be looking at a girl on the beach and you could say. ‘Wow look at that bomb!’”
John is grateful the world class Drakenstein Stud is now Beach Beauty’s home as that ensures she will have the best care imaginable for the rest of her life.
He concluded, “It was a great period in our lives and then for her to go to Gaynor, who had access to the Trippis and Lancaster Bombers and all the great stallions and up-and-coming stallions we’ve had over the last ten years, is just fantastic.”
Beach Bomb is a longshot for the Filly And Mare turf and will probably invoke some wide-eyed surprise at her diminutive stature, but she will be propelled by a huge heart and a lovely big action … as well as perhaps by the spirit of Mark Armitage.
