TWICE CROWNED INTER DOMINION PACING CHAMPION - Tasmanian born & bred
(P.2, 2:01.5MS, 3, 1:59.5MS, 1:50.2MS)

Beautide was foaled in October 2007; he is a brown gelded son of the super sire Bettor's Delight (imp) and the sixth foal of the well performed Gorse Bush, a daughter of Ticket to Heaven (imp). Bred by well known industry identity Barrie Rattray, and born on the family property in Northern Tasmania, Beau made history as the first Tasmanian dual winner of the Inter Dominion championships with his back-to-back victories in 2014 and 2015.

The Rattray family from the North East Coast has been synonymous with Tasmanian Harness Racing for over 100 years. They bred the 1918 Easter Cup winner J.G., who started from the 180 metre mark, and was ridden in his Tasmanian races by Oliver Rattray. The gelding was later on sold to Victoria where he won many races. Barrie Rattray's father Wayne has been the leading trainer in the state on six occasions, winning many major races with Napoleon Stone, Karalta Bay, Karalta Jet (all Tasmanian Championship winners), Vern Neptune and the ill fated Cody Maverick, who died after a bad fall in an Australian Breeders Crown final.

Barrie spent a number of years with Art Meeker at the Neptune Stud's racing and breeding complex in southern Tasmania, before branching out on his own. Barrie had the good fortune to buy the broodmare Ann Byrd, whose daughter Barrington Lass (by Holly Sand) won only one race but has proved a gem of a broodmare. Barrie also bought the What's Next mare Draw Card which produced nine winners including King Carey 1:57.1 (38 wins $179,671), Bettor Draw 1:51.9 (24 wins $238,638 end Aug 2016) and Queen Carey 1:56.3 (18 wins $165,227). Queen Carey only had three foals, including Benediction 1:57.8 (19 wins $161,235) and Devendra 1:52.0 (25 wins $395,973 end Aug 2016).

Barrie has been leading trainer in the state on 16 occasions and won the reinsman title 10½ times, dead heating in 1995 with Neville Webberley. In 2014, he was inducted into the Tasmanian Harness Racing Hall of Fame. The Rattray tradition in Harness Racing is set to be around for a long time; Barrie and his wife Denise have four sons - Todd, who works for his father, is a very capable reinsman, his twin brothers are James, the trainer/driver of Beautide, and Gareth who won the Tasmanian leading reinsman award in 2014/15 for the tenth year in a row. Their other son Adam has also driven a winner.

The story of Beautide, the 2014 and 2015 Australian Horse of the Year, begins nearly ninety years ago (April 1925) when Robert Strong from Sorell Creek (near New Norfolk) registered a six year old black maiden mare he brought for 50 pounds ($100) from Leeton in NSW.

The mare, called Black Annie, began racing in Tasmania in October 1925. Her relatively short racing career was based around Northall Park track, and wins included two New Norfolk Cups (1927 and 1928). Her pedigree was given as by Patron (by the imported Australian Parole) from a mare by Honest Dixie (by imported Dixie Alto) - Patron sired 19 winners whilst Honest Dixie never bothered the scorer.

The career of Black Annie took a strange twist after her retirement from the racetrack. Bred to Tallimba, she was lent to a Mr Lord of Moonah, but disappeared from his property when four months pregnant. In July 1932 Bob Strong found Black Annie on a property at Sorell Creek (near New Norfolk); he took possession of both her, and a lookalike stray filly found nearby shortly later. Bob Strong won a subsequent court challenge by a Mr Badcock for the filly and expenses; during the trial it was stated that Black Annie was a ring-in, but the judge found in favour of Robert Strong mainly because his witnesses sounded more convincing.

Black Annie was sold on, bred to Asshie ( Honest Huon – Little Giant by Tuxedo Jr) and in 1936 she produced a brown filly called Annie Ash, one of whose off-spring was Annie’s Design, by Raider's Design (Raider – Desert Storm). Raider's Design was one of imported Raider's best sons winning a total of 19 races including the 1947 Tasmanian Derby, 1950 Show Cup and the 1951 Metropolitan Cup. He also was a succesful sire with 48 winners. His daughters have proved very good broodmares.

Annie's Design only produced two foals, both fillies; the first in 1967 by imported Express Byrd(Poplar Byrd – Marion Direct) was called Ann Byrd who was a non winner, but proved herself one of the best broodmares and family builder that Tasmania has produced. Nine of her foals won races, with several gaining prizemoney of more than $60,000. In 1982 Ann Byrd, now owned by Barrie Rattray, dropped a brown filly by Holly Sand that would prove herself one of the best matrons in the land.

Named Barrington Lass, she had a short racing career winning one race from sixteen starts. However, she produced 15 winners of 178 races with stakemoney earnings of $984,268. Top performers included Barrington Belle 1:51.6 (33 wins $247,747), Alby Albert 1:57.1 (23 wins $201,741), and Alla Breve 1:59.1 (11 wins $74,528).

Her family has been carried on mainly in Tasmania by two of her daughters Bar Ron (by Vol de Nuit) and Gorse Bush (by Ticket to Heaven). Bar Ron has thrown 8 winners with 4 in the high stakes category, and the first 9 foals of Gorse Bush have all been winners headed by Beautide, the dual Inter Dominion winner (2014, 2015), and NSW Miracle Mile winner (2013). The leading foals of Gorse Bush are Beautide 1:50.2 (49 wins $2.2m to mid 2016), Death & Taxes 1:58.1 (15 wins $125,300), Ashkalini 2:00.2 (14 wins $124,338), and Acutabovetherest 1:57.1 (14 wins $82,291).

Beautide (Beau) began his racing career with a win in a minor two year old race at Burnie in January 2010. He raced six times as a juvenile for 3 wins and 2 placings, his major win being in the $25,000 Betfair Sweepstakes Final at Hobart.

Beau showed he had a very bright future ahead of him the following season. Resuming from a spell he won first up at Launceston in late November. He was not given a long three year old season only racing 10 times for 9 wins and an unlucky fourth in the Tasmanian Derby behind Thats So Irish. His last start for the season and his major win was in the Group 3 $30,000 final of the Globe Derby Stakes at Launceston.

His four year old season started at Carrick in March 2012 when he took out the Westbury Cup. He did not win any major race that season, the closest being a narrow defeat by Quastor Centurion in the Group 3 $30,000 Raider Stakes at Devonport. Driven by Gareth Rattray, he raced eleven times in Tasmania for 7 wins and 4 placings, journeying to Melton late in the season for a third and a sixth from his two starts.

A short spell followed, and his 2012/13 season started positively with a first up win in a Free for All in Hobart in November 2012, covering the 2090 metres at a 1:57.7 rate, a very good time on that circuit. His 14 starts in Tasmania that season resulted in 7 wins and three placings. An interstate trip led to 7 starts at Menangle to finish off the season with a further 2 wins, 4 seconds and a fourth, with driving duties taken over by James Rattray who had recently settled back in Australia after several stints working with recognized trainers overseas; he is the first Tasmanian to drive a winner in the US, and he also holds the Australasian Young Driver Champion title (2005).

By this stage, Beautide's record in Tasmania was good but was not indicative of what was about to follow. His outstanding six year old season in New South Wales must rate highly in harness racing history. Between September 2013 to April 2014 he started in 14 races for 12 wins, and prizemoney of $1.1m. He dominated the Menangle track (11 wins), including three high-profile Group 1 victories – the Inter Dominion Final; the Miracle Mile, and the Len Smith Mile. He also captured the Newcastle Mile (Group 2) by an 8.5metre margin and set a new track record of 1.52:6. A tactically brilliant drive by James Rattray in the Miracle Mile helped set a new race record (1:50.2 mile rating) and made Beautide the first Tasmanian winner of the race in 45 years (Hawles 1968). He topped that with a new Australian and world 3000m record time of 1:55.5 in the Inter Dominion (Im Themightyquinn 1:58.1 in 2013), when he defied all odds to take victory after plenty of work outside the leader coming from a second-line draw. Subsequently voted Australian, Tasmanian and NSW Harness Horse of the Year (2014), he was also NSW Aged Pacer and Aged Entire & Gelded Pacer of the Year, as well as the Australian Leading four-year-old or older pacer.

By early 2014 trainer/driver James Rattray had settled into his new stables at Cobbitty (NSW) and Beautide was rested before returning to Menangle in October. Wide barrier draws in lead-up races delayed his next wins to November FFAs (a Group 3 and a Group 1) followed by a narrow second to Christian Me in the Miracle Mile after starting as favourite. The team then relocated to Melton for a summer campaign, but “niggling issues” meant by-passing the Ballarat and Bendigo Cups, followed by a poor showing in the Victoria Cup, and it was back to Menangle (and a new property at Exeter) to defend his Inter Dominion crown. A brilliant win in the new format NSW Qualifying Heat made him favourite for the final where he completely outclassed the field after racing without cover for most of the 3,009 metre journey. The margin was 13.9m, in a 1:55.8 mile rate, just outside his own world record for the distance set the previous year. His back-to-back victories emulated those of Hondo Grattan, Gammalite, Our Sir Vancelot NZ, Beautide and Im Themightyquinn NZ.

Listen to what trainer-driver James Rattray had to say to Peter Staples of Tasracing after Beautide’s brilliant Inter Dominion win at Menangle.

Beau’s prizemoney soon passed $2million with another Group 3 win, and despite being upset in the April Len Smith Mile by Smolda, he still opened as joint favourite with Christian Me for the next Inter Dominion in Perth in late 2015 when the traditional format would prevail. He again won the Australian, Tasmanian and NSW Horse of the Year awards (2015) plus the two NSW Aged Pacer titles. He was also inducted into the Tasracing Harness Hall of Fame in recognition of his Inter Dominion and Miracle Mile victories.

However, after a significant break from racing in mid 2015 it was announced that a “minor setback” had interrupted his preparations for Perth and would prevent a second defence of his crown. It was not until late January 2016 that recovery from a leg injury meant Beau resumed racing, albeit with mixed results – he reset the 2300m Australian record in a FFA at Menangle (1:53.5), and a fine win gave him a second Coco-Cola Amatil Sprint (Group 1) with a sizzling 1:50.7, but a top-class field and a record-breaking finish by Have Faith in Me NZ (1:47.5) in the Miracle Mile meant the champion missed out on the placings. He finished the season with another spell “öff-track” but still gained some $163,000 prizemoney.

As a horse that is a great miler and has also set a world and three national records Beautide is in a very select group. At end 2015/16, aged eight, he has 49 wins, and 20 placings from 81 starts, with prizemoney close to $2.2m. Given his achievements to date, including six Group 1 wins, it could be expected he will be recognised as a highly ranked performer for quite some time.

pedigree
	Pedigree - Beautide