Spotlight On: Renita Beaton

By Brodie Nickson

Renita Beaton wasn’t born into a racing family, but that didn’t stop her quickly stepping into the life of thoroughbreds as she began working with horses from the age of nine.

“When I was nine-years-old I met Melanie and Andrew Davies in New Zealand, where I grew up, and they pretty much taught me most of what I know,” Beaton said.

“They taught me to ride, taught me to break in horses and taught me a lot, pretty much gave me my grounding.

“They pretty much became my second family.”

Beaton spent ‘a fair few years’ with the Davies stable before moving to join Gary Vile, and Paddy and Sylvia Kay in Palmerston North.

Paddy, who recently passed away, trained alongside his wife Sylvia and had tremendous success, including training Group 1 winner Sapio.

“They have had some wonderful horses and they breed their own,” Beaton said.

“They are wonderful trainers and taught me a lot.”

At the age of 18. Beaton decided to pack her bags and move to Brisbane where she joined the powerful Robert Heathcote stable.

At the time Heathcote was dominating Brisbane racing, and the now six-time premiership winner was at the peak of his prowess with the likes of Buffering leading the charge.

“[The move to Brisbane was] daunting. Really daunting actually,” Beaton said.

“I guess you just take the leap and hope it pays off.

“I had emailed Mr Heathcote and managed to get a job before I hit the ground, so that sort of gave me the confidence to move over and set myself up because I got the job.

“I was in a really good era with Rob. I think he won five or six premierships in a row. We had Buffering, Woorim, Solzhenitsyn, Fire Up Fifi. I was probably in his best era; I was pretty lucky.

“He had his first Group 1 success when I was there.”

Beaton continued her immense racing education when she moved to Hong Kong in 2016.

She took up a trackwork rider position with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and was placed with experienced trainer David Ferraris.

“It was a really good experience, not only to be at Hong Kong but the racing is at such an elite level,” Beaton said.

“You have the elite jockeys, trainers, owners, horses. It was a really rewarding experience, but it was a really educational experience.”

She spent six years in Hong Kong before returning to South East Queensland, this time taking out her training licence on the Gold Coast.

“I ended up at Fenwick Farm. The Gold Coast Turf Club didn’t have enough room and Ryan Tyrell had a few boxes spare,” Beaton said.

“It is lovely to be there. It is a lovely place that has all the facilities you need.”

The extensive Canungra training facility is owned by Sandy Bauman and boasts a large array of opportunities for trainers to utilise the grounds to suit their training needs.

Beaton has 19 horses in work; the majority tried horses, with a new crop of yearlings set to join the team.

One of her success stories has been Shore To Happen, who has posted three wins from her 13 starts so far.

Beaton has her own approach to training, one that has been formed by her experiences in three different countries.

“I say a lot of my training would be based off a bit of both Australia and Hong Kong, but a lot of it is based off Hong Kong,” Beaton said.

“I have got bits of me from New Zealand, bits of me from Australia and bits of me from Hong Kong. I am probably a little bit more closer to training Hong Kong than all of them but, like I say, it is everyday things like taking temperatures. You need to have strong protocols in place.”

Beaton admits to being a perfectionist and working closely with her small team.

“Whether you have three horses or 60 horses, you need those protocols in place to run a successful stable with a high strike-rate,” she said.

“I guess one key thing for me is that I ride a lot of my own work and if they’re a bit flat or a bit silly and playful, I can up their work or I can bring their work back.

“I am lucky I am on their backs the majority of the time and although I have stepped up my numbers a bit more now that I need a hand with riding them, I can literally throw my leg over any of them and get a really good guide of a horse.”

Beaton and her fiancé, Troy Schmetzer, place a strong emphasis on placing her horses well.

Schmetzer especially has been a massive benefit for Beaton as ‘a big part of the business’.

“He has extensive knowledge of the industry, having worked for some very good trainers in his time. It would be a lot harder without him - he can literally throw his hands at anything,” Beaton said.

They aren’t afraid to travel, and being located at Canungra opens up an array of opportunities across South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales.

“I think you have to [travel]. One reason being I have tried horses and they are out of grade. If they are not good enough to be in town I would like them to win over the border than not win at all,” Beaton said.

“But if they are good enough to go to town we will happily go to town. If they are racing really well and we think they are good enough they will be there.

“You have to place them well, I think. It is a really big part of it and racing is really tough now.”

Beaton highlighted the change in approach for many big stables in previous years who have also placed a big emphasis on travelling their horses to find winnable races.

“The big stables are travelling now. They send them to the likes of the country and provincial circuits now,” she said.

“You have (Annabel) Neasham, Tony (Gollan) and (Rob) Heathcote who are sending them to the likes of Beaudesert, a few over the border, Toowoomba and a few places they never used to.

“When I was with Heathcote they never travelled like that. They never went to the country/provincial circuits. They were strictly Ipswich, Gold Coast, Eagle Farm and Doomben.

“It certainly is a lot more competitive anywhere you go.”

Beaton has increasing support from a variety of owners and was especially thankful to those who continue to support her.

She recently recorded a dominant win with five-year-old gelding Short To Happen at Warwick, an important win for herself in the popular orange Gall Bloodstock silks.

“Ray and Brett Gall gave me my first horses and my start. They gave me three horses to begin with and they are still in my stable to this day,” Beaton said.

“I have had some really loyal owners and loyalty to me is everything, so it is really nice to still have them in my yard.”

Beaton doesn’t want to get too far ahead of herself and knows she will continue to get results as long as she does the ‘one-percenters’.