This photo illustrates just how diminutive Beach Bomb is (Picture: Wayne Marks)
John Bescoby, a former Gold Circle Chairman and long time racing owner, was a member of the Shanks Syndicate who raced Beach Beauty and he is still in awe of the daughter of Dynasty.
Asked if he had watched Beach Beauty’s Candice Bass-Robinson-trained daughter Beach Bomb winning the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas on Saturday, he quipped, “Well do you think I wouldn’t?!”
John confirmed he had indeed watched and added, “It was a great performance and reminsicent of her mother, although as everybody has said she is a little bit smaller than her mother and Beach Beauty was small!””
He continued, “Watching the race brought back a lot of great memories.”
Beach Beauty, a five-times Gr 1-winning champion, was a special horse in the Summerveld yard of maestro trainer Dennis Drier and even her equine stablemates appeared to agree.
Upon arrival at her current home of Drakenstein Stud she 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.
John is very grateful Beach Beauty was purchased by Drakenstein.
The Beach Beauty fairytale is well documented.
To put it briefly a racing syndicate called The Shanks Syndicate made up of friends and family of the late Mark “Shanks” Armitage was formed to race in the latter’s honour. Beach Beauty was leased as their first runner. Beach Beauty was bred by Mark’s father Trevor Armitage and was given her name by Mark’s oldest daughter Kate. The colours of the syndicate were a reflection of the plumage of the Narina Trogon. Mark was an avid birdwatcher and one of his friends remembered his excitement one day when making a positive spotting of tihe Narina Trogon.
John said, “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.”
Poetry in motion, Sean Cormack and Beach Beauty (Picture: Liesl King)
Besides Beach Bomb, the Dynasty mare has also produced two Gr 2 winners. The two others of her five runners to date have both won Non-Black Type features and one of those is multiple Graded placed.
John added about the Lancaster Bomber filly Beach Bomb, “That’s 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 revealed that the money Beach Beauty was purchased for by Drakenstein was of great help to her owners, the Armitage family, especially considering Trevor had passed away a year before Beach Beauty’s retirement.
That was one of the reasons John was grateful to Drakenstein Stud.
He added, “It was a great period in our lives and then for her to go to Gaynor (Rupert), who had access to the Trippi’s and Lancaster Bombers and all the great stallions and up-and-coming stallions we’ve had over the last ten years, is just fantastic.”
