Okanui Beach claimed the biggest win of his career when taking out the $100,000 LAFM Beautide (2200m) at Launceston’s Ladbrokes Racing Centre Mowbray on Saturday night.
Trained in Victoria by Craig Turnbull, who has been campaigning a team of horses in Tasmania over the past month, the Downbytheseaside entire was driven by his daughter Abbey.
She settled Okanui Beach behind the leader early before the pacer was shuffled back to three-back the pylons following a mid-race change of leader.
Abbey was able to move into the one-out, one-back position near the 550m before angling four wide approaching the 300m.
Okanui Beach ($7.50) finished best to record a 2.5m win over Carmen Emjay ($31) and Hungry Hippo ($5.50) in a mile rate of 1:58.5s.
“We got a bit of luck tonight, which he definitely hasn’t received in the past, but I couldn’t have been prouder of him,” Abbey said after the race.
“I said a little prayer near the 400m, ‘Come on, there has got to be a God.’
“We were lucky enough to get the gaps, and he was good enough to take them.”
It was Okanui Beach’s seventh career win at his 20th start.
His previous highlights included victory in the Group 3 Dandy Patch as a two-year-old, while he had also been placed in the Youthful Stakes at Melton, the three and four-year-old Tasbred finals, the Globe Derby Stakes and the Raider Stakes.
“I’ve said a couple of times this week that he has probably earned three-quarters of his prize money, around $75,000 or $80,000 with the bonuses, in Tasmania,” Craig said.
Okanui Beach was bred in Tasmania by Mick Maxfield and offered at the 2023 Nutrien Equine Yearling Sale, where he was purchased for $20,000.
“Doug Johnston, his owner, rang me and gave me a list of three or four horses.
“I went out to the farm and he just stood out to me. He was a cruisy, great little type,” Craig recalled.
Okanui Beach’s career was interrupted by illness and hoof issues during his three-year-old season.
“Just when he was ready to come into work, he got a bad bacterial infection and lost about 70 kilograms, so we had to get him over that,” Craig said.
Turnbull said the pacer has also had some hoof issues, which began to improve after farrier Carl O’Dwyer fitted him with a specialised set of shoes.
Each runner in the Beautide is eligible for the $40,000 Golden Alley, which will be held at Hobart’s Ladbrokes Park Elwick in December, but Craig indicated the upcoming Vicbred series would be Okanui Beach’s next major target.
Shes Allaboutluv ($1.55 fav) is another likely to head to Victoria in the coming weeks after claiming her 10th win of the season in the $20,000 Darrel Rockliff Graduate (2200m).
The victory was the mare’s second at metropolitan level.
Driver Ethan Arnott took She’s Allaboutluv straight to the lead, where she controlled the race through a comfortable opening lap before completing the final half-mile in 56.3s.
The leisurely early tempo was reflected in the mile rate of 1:59.7s.
“I thought after they got that first lap pretty cheap, she was going to be pretty hard to chase down,” Arnott said.
“She felt really good. She settled nicely and relaxed well.
“When I asked her to go, she definitely let down.
Trainer Chris Howlett indicated after the race that he was considering a trip to the mainland in the near future for the mare.
The other feature on the card, The King for Tasbred fillies and mares with no more than four lifetime wins, was taken out by Angel Rocks ($3.30).
Ryan Backhouse drove the lightly raced mare for trainer Tammy Langley.
The final two races on the program were abandoned due to concerns with the on-track lighting.
Tasracing subsequently announced that neither race would be rerun or rescheduled, with the prize money from both events to be distributed evenly among all runners under the Abandoned or Postponed Race Meeting Subsidy Policy.
