By Tony McMahon
Rockhampton’s Capricornia Yearling Sale has produced another international winner, enhancing its excellent reputation as a source of winners.
The triumph came at the Macau Jockey Club’s race meeting last Saturday thanks to the former Clinton Taylor-trained three-year-old Beach Road.
Now racing in Macau as Famous Medal where he is trained by Pat Lee, the Benfica gelding scored an impressive win in his international race debut last Saturday over 1200 metres.
The official MJC results sheet listed the stakes won by Famous Medal as $168,150 (Macanese Pataca) which converts to $27,307 Australian.
The Beach Road - or Famous Medal - story commenced on October 9, 2017 when the Benfica-Glisten x Chateau Istana colt was foaled.
He found his way to the Robert Schwarten Pavilion at the Rockhampton Showgrounds under the Aquis Farm banner when offered for sale there as Lot 39 at the Sale on April 14, 2019.
There, the colt caught the astute eye of trainer Clinton Taylor who at the time was just starting to establish a stable in Rockhampton not long having moved from the countryside in south-east Queensland.
While the bay colt’s sire Benfica - a son of Lonhro - had been a Group 1-winning racehorse via the TJ Smith Stakes, his mother Glisten had a very moderate record, going around predominantly on country tracks.
After claiming a Townsville Maiden early in her 15-start career, she had failed to fire a shot at tracks including Hughenden and Mt Isa.
The Benfica colt was her first offspring, so little wonder Taylor got the yearling for just $4000, and never in his wildest dreams would be believe the subsequent storyline that was to unfold.
“He always showed me something in training; he won a barrier trial well at Yeppoon not long before his race debut,” Taylor said.
“I liked him and told those who asked that he was smart and could gallop.”