Anthony and Sam Freedman have refined their handling of the developing three-year-old gelding Beskar by doing less, which is delivering impressive performances on the track.
The gelding claimed back-to-back successes by leading throughout in Saturday’s Listed South Pacific Classic (1400m) at Randwick, creating scope for a Queensland winter carnival challenge in 2026.
Prior to that, he pulled off an unexpected victory in the Darby Munro Stakes (1200m), regaining peak condition after a lacklustre spring.
“He’s become genuine, this horse,” Anthony Freedman said.
“He has always shown us really good ability. He just lost his way and needed gelding, and we’ve changed up a lot with him. We hardly work him, and it’s working for him.
“He can sustain a long gallop. It opens up some options for him at 1400 now.”
Ridden hands-and-heels by Damian Lane, Beskar ($5.50) accelerated powerfully late, seeing off the persistent bid from second-placed Mareth ($13), the filly going down fighting by a short head.
Regal Award ($1.90) was the best of the remainders, a further 1-1/4 lengths back.
Freedman explained that taking the front wasn’t pre-planned, but Lane capitalised on the gelding’s alert getaway.
“He’s a horse where, the more you tell him to do something he doesn’t want to do, he tends to work against you,” Lane said.
“When he was free flowing I just went with him and lucky he held on.”
Now with Saturday’s race as merely his third this preparation, Beskar is geared towards key three-year-old events in Brisbane.
“He is pretty lightly raced, and he handles this direction so that’s probably the logical step,” Freedman said.
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