Gavin Bedggood, often recognised for his success in rejuvenating horses from other stables, proved his capability with fresh talent at Sandown on Wednesday.
The Cranbourne trainer unveiled the two-year-old filly Burning Heartz, who staged a thrilling debut performance to win the $50,000 Sportsbet Jockey Watch Handicap over 1300 metres.
Bedggood purchased Burning Heartz for $26,000 at last year’s Magic Millions yearling sale in Adelaide and was delighted to secure the victory for her connections, many of whom were encouraged to take a share in the filly in the weeks preceding her first race.
“I probably still owned half of her up until about a fortnight ago, so I’ve sold the rest of her over the last couple of weeks since she’s trialled up,” he said. “I gave a couple of people a ring and told them she went alright, so it’s good to be vindicated today. “It’s great to get a two-year-old winner. We’ve been a stable that’s been marked as a tried-horse trainer but we had a two-year-old (Egyptian Dancer) run second on Saturday at Caulfield and it’s good to get a winner today.”
Burning Heartz is the third two-year-old winner for Bedggood, a former accomplished jumps jockey who is approaching 250 career training wins.
The daughter of Cool Aza Beel was victorious in a tight finish, with a margin of just over a head separating the first four finishers.
The $4.40 favourite won by a nose from Delahra ($6), who finished ahead of Tagabella ($9) in second, with Anglais ($4.40) a close fourth.
Joe Bowditch rode Burning Heartz and commended her trainer’s effort in preparing her for a winning debut over 1300 metres. Bedggood is optimistic about the filly’s future potential.
“I would say that further (in trip) is going to be no issue in time,” he stated. “She’s got a great constitution, I’ve never seen her leave feed, and she just wants to work with you. “She dropped her head nicely in the run there and the world’s her oyster.”
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