Can Beach Ball bounce back?

“I think he’ll go pretty good, and I still think he’s coming on,” harness racing trainer Kevin Chapman said when talking about the chances of Beach Ball (Somebeachsomewhere) on Friday night (Mar. 31) at Addington.

Last season he was one of the top twelve three-year-old pacers. He finished third, behind Akuta, and just half a length away from the winner in the Group One Great Northern Derby. He won four of his twelve starts at that age, completing his three-year-old season in the New Zealand Derby in early December.

“Everything went pear shaped in the Derby. Just prior to the race he got a quarter crack and a bone chip. Since the Derby he’s had the bone chip removed so we’ve had to go through a recovery process with him around the foot and the bone chip removal.”

Now four, Beach Ball has had a solid buildup to Friday night’s $27,000 Group Three Fahey Fence Hire Autumn FFA.

At his first start in the new campaign, he finished second. In that race driver Max Hill took Beach Ball to the front and was just run down late by Heisenberg (Art Major).

“I was pretty happy with that run. It was a 54-mile rate first up after having one quiet trial since his run in the Derby.”

Chapman was then forced to run the entire in two handicap races.

“Two handicap starts for him were totally inappropriate at the time, but I had nothing else because he’s got to have racing to get race fit.”

His second run was over 2600 metres when he finished seventh in a nine-horse field.

“They went 3-10 which I didn’t expect so that was a bit of a tough run.”

Over the same distance a week later Beach Ball broke at the start and wasn’t pushed, finishing sixth behind Sam’s Town (Art Major).

“I said to Johnny (Morrison) that we didn’t want another gut buster. He missed away and went back. He got home in 54.8 and Corravally Star (Washington VC) was the only horse to get home quicker than him so there’s not too much wrong with my horse.”

His stats suggest he’s ideally placed in tonight’s pacing feature having run over the 1980 metre distance nine times for three wins and five placings. But as Chapman points out it was mainly as a young horse.

“Two- and three-year-old racing is primarily over that distance and with his gate speed he was always on the front end. Over that distance that’s where you’ve got to be.”

When pondering this Friday’s race Chapman says he fully realises from now on there’s no dodging the better quality free for allers.

“I’m happy enough with him. It’s a good field and you don’t take anything for granted when you’re racing the quality horses. It’s the old (boxing) adage that if you want to go fifteen rounds you’ve got to learn to take a punch or two.”

For complete race entries, click here.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink