Mitch Beer with sister Ash. Photo: Supplied
Albury trainer Mitch Beer has purchased last season’s Listed Wanganui Guineas (1340m) winner Bobby Dazzler from the stable of Stephen Marsh and is looking forward to training his latest Kiwi import.
The four-year-old son of Zed has won three of his 14 starts in New Zealand and Beer said he would cost around A$40,000, including transport, by the time he arrives at his country New South Wales base.
“He has obviously proven himself at a very good level,” Beer said.
“I find ratings wise, if a three-year-old had won a Listed race in Australia they really have to measure up or they’re hard to place for the next two years.
“Having purchased a few tried horses from New Zealand, they get in quite well at the ratings, which is a big plus.”
Beer said he had dealt with Cambridge trainer Stephen Marsh previously and found him very straight-forward and helpful.
“I purchased Mr Trump off him and he came over here and won in his first preparation, so it gives you good confidence that you are buying from a source you can trust.”
Bobby Dazzler is likely to have a brief spell and be back racing early next year.
“We’ve got a race like the Snake Gully Cup (1400m) in Gundagai which is worth $100,000 that would suit him. The prizemoney at the second and third tier meetings in New South Wales is excellent.
“You are not buying them on the proviso of going to town to win. We want him as a good country handicap horse and if he’s any better than that, we can look at city races.”
Beer said he likes to focus on four-year-old tried horses from New Zealand, and quite often mares so that he is not competing with the demand from Asian markets.
“We have purchased a lot of horses out of New Zealand and the key is to buy them at the right time and they can be value,” he said.
“Three runs ago I wouldn’t have been able to afford Bobby Dazzler.
“Dreams of Paris, I think she had had six starts in New Zealand and won a maiden, we got her after a couple of okay runs. She came here and she won three, including a race at Caulfield, and she finished second in a stakes race at her final start.”
The witty 30-year-old trainer has utilised the power of social media to promote his business and revealed that he had sold half of Bobby Dazzler to twitter followers within a couple of hours of posting his new acquisition.
“I am a big fan of twitter for both business and a bit of fun,” Beer said.
“I put a tweet out about him last night and we sold half the horse within a few hours through twitter.
“I put a horse on there about eight or nine months ago called Logan River that I purchased as a tried horse for $15,000. Probably 80 percent of his ownership is twitter based and he has earnt nearly $100,000 in eight months and won four races.
“It is great not only for selling horses but also keeping people informed of where we are going and what we are doing and including them in the inner sanctum of the stable.
“We race for such good prize money and we are not a big punting stable. We like to be open and if we think we have a winner we are happy to share it and get everyone involved because that is the way of the modern world now. Information is the key.”
Beer is also looking to make a return to the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale in November after good results from his foray last year.
“I purchased three at the Ready To Run Sale last year and we had a Ferlax filly that we paid NZ$5,000 for won a A$30,000 maiden at her first start and the other two have trialled up well, so we will be back.
“I am bringing them back to country New South Wales where our first objective is to win races and pay for themselves and then we can go to town and try our luck.”
