Beckham plays a blinder on debut

Beckham was rated as “one of the best I’ve got” by co-trainer Peter McKay before he made his debut at Matamata and the royally-bred colt didn’t disappoint this afternoon. The Pins three-year-old bounced out of the barrier to sit on the pace and asserted his superiority in the straight to win by a length and a-half.

Bred and raced by WS, the handsome colt is the fourth foal of the farm’s dual Group One winner Glamour Puss. The Tale of the Cat mare now has a perfect record at stud with Heritage, Hollywood and Vogue all previously successful. “He’s a real blueblood – he’s got it all there,” rider Vinnie Colgan said. “He stepped out of the gates well and was very tractable and he gave me a really nice feel in the last 200 metres.”

Beckham’s victory came off the back of a trial placing on the course earlier this month. “We’ve held him in high regard for a long time,” Jacob McKay said. “He’s done it very nicely and he’ll improve.”