Bookmakers have opened Barbary Tales as the favourite for Saturday night’s $100,000 LAFM Beautide at Launceston’s Ladbrokes Racing Centre, Mowbray.
Barbary Tales finished third behind Fighter Command and Bettablack Tiger in last year’s Beautide in Hobart. 12 months later, she returns with a career record of nine wins from 18 starts.
Her most recent win came in a Granny Smith heat in Launceston two starts ago, before she finished fifth in the final, an effort that did not disappoint trainer Steven Davis.
“I wasn’t disappointed in the final, just with the way the race panned out.
“I think they went a 41.8s lead time, and we were caught four wide doing it.
“She probably hasn’t had to use that early speed for as long in a race before,” said Davis.
Davis’ son Brodie will take the drive on Saturday, starting from barrier three if the first emergency doesn’t gain a run.
“From a better barrier draw, we’ll see what we can do,” Davis said.
“She hasn’t done a lot. She worked with a couple of others at Carrick last Saturday, just for a bit of a blow.
“She doesn’t need a lot. She’s rock-hard fit and doesn’t need much between runs,” he added.
The trainer believes there has been improvement with the daughter of For A Reason since last year’s Beautide.
“She’s improved a little bit just by maturing. It will be more interesting this year, seeing what the three-year-olds want to do.”
Davis rates the four-year-olds from the second row as the hardest to beat.
“Okanui Beach has probably got more point-to-point speed than the other horses off the second row. If he gets a cart up three wide and is within striking distance, he can reel off a really good last 400 or 200.
“Those horses off the second row probably won’t have to do much work, and if they get a cart into it, they’ll be pretty hard to beat,” Steven said.
Davis said no decision had been made on Barbary Tales campaign beyond Saturday night, with the stable concentrating solely on the Beautide.
