Beatson Ready to Run

Media Release - Tuesday October 10
Waikato-based horseman Sam Beatson is currently preparing 29 two-year-olds for the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run sale in November, his third under his Riversley Park banner.

He runs his business from a 50-acre purpose built facility near Ohaupo, having previously operated Beatson Stables with cousin Jamie, who has now established Ohukia Lodge near Karapiro.

The nephew of Olympian Maurice Beatson, Sam has come from a sport horse background and represented New Zealand in showjumping, competing in both Australia and India.

"It was a good experience," he said. "India was an eye opener. It gave me a good grounding in riding horses and general horsemanship. It crosses over a little bit into the thoroughbreds."

Myra Crawford-Smith and Sam Beatson riding track workBeatson moved to Waikato 12 years ago to establish a breaking-in business with Jamie after spending the majority of his work life in the agricultural industry.

"I was a shepherd in Hawke's Bay until I moved up here," he said. "The business grew and I just never left. My parents' place is in Dannevirke and I spent a lot of time working in central Hawke's Bay near Waipukurau."

Beatson is well-respected within the industry and has broken in some quality horses, including Melbourne Cup-winner Prince of Penzance, six-time Group One winner and now sire Dundeel and the Group One winner Sofia Rosa.

Within the last couple of years he has diversified into preparing and selling stock at the Ready To Run Sale.

"Breaking in had been a big part of the business for a long-time, but now it is crossing over into trading a lot of horses," Beatson said. "It's probably 50-50 now, where the core of the business was breaking in."

He said he sources the majority of his Ready to Run draft from the yearling sales.

"We buy the odd one out of the paddock, but we typically buy out of the yearling sales. We look for nice athletic type of horses with good conformation.

"We break them in in February. I normally do a four-week breaking-in, so I'm not too hard on them because it's early in the season and then I get them in for a six-week prep somewhere in between there and August.

"On the first Monday of August they come in for their Ready to Run prep, which obviously goes right through to the breeze-ups in October."

This year Beatson has utilised Te Rapa racecourse to get his two-year-old's more acquainted with the turf surface.

"Coming in to Te Rapa I thought it might just be a bit easier on the horses to get on grass, where it is really hard to get on at Cambridge because of all the racehorses there," he said.

"All the big trainers and racehorses obviously get preference rather than the two-year-olds and it's pretty quiet at Te Rapa so they let us go around on the grass once a week."

It is a busy time of year for Beatson, who has 40 horses in work in total with five staff members to assist him, including two other riders and three ground staff.

With a reduction in the number of lots for this year's sale, Beatson believes the clearance rate should benefit.

"I don't know if the prices will be higher this year," he said. "Maybe the clearance rate will be higher, but I think the prices will still be reasonably similar to last year."

Beatson has had mixed results in the two sales he has entered so far, and will be looking to replicate the success he found in his debut sale with Riversley Park.

"Last year was a tough enough sale with too many horses catalogued, but we came out on top," he said. "We were happy enough, we were on the right side of it in a really tough year.

"The year before was the best sale I have ever had and it would be hard to top."

The Ready to Run breeze-ups will take place at Te Rapa on October 16 and 17, while the sale will be at New Zealand Bloodstock's Karaka sales complex on November 22 and 23. – NZ Racing Desk.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Golden Slipper Winner Marhoona Resumes With Heritage Stakes Win
Having not been seen on race day since her success in the Group 1 ATC Golden Slipper (1200m), Champion 2YO Marhoona (Snitzel) put pay to any ‘Golden Slipper hoodoo’ to win the Listed ATC Heritage Stakes (1100m) at her first start at 3.
Pedigree Watch – G1 European 2YO
Juveniles took centre stage overnight in the UK and Ireland with a pair of Group I races decided at Newmarket in the Middle Park Stakes (6f) for the colts and Cheveley Park Stakes (6f) for the fillies, while at The Curragh a field of 30 lined up in the Goffs Million, the richest 2YO race in Europe.
Kiwi Bred Evaporate Wins G3 Sandown Stakes
Smart four-year-old Evaporate bounced back from a setback to win Saturday’s Gr.3 Sandown Stakes (1500m) in gallant fashion, defeating favourite Transatlantic by a nose.
Manhattan Rain Gold Rush in WA
Geisel Park won’t be the only WA breeder on board when the first locally-conceived 2yo crop of its Group 1 sire Manhattan Rain get mobile this season.
€1.9million Sale-Topping Colt Wins G3 Somerville Stakes
The Group III Somerville Stakes (7f) was run at Newmarket overnight with the Godolphin blue carried by exciting Night of Thunder colt Distant Storm, who they purchased for a sale-topping €1.9million at the Arqana May Breeze Up Sale earlier this year.
Proisir 6YO Waitak Captures Another G1
Saturday's Howden Insurance Mile (1600m) at Te Rapa took Waitak past the million-dollar barrier and added another triumphant chapter to his unique Group One record.
Waterford Wins G2 Shannon Stakes
Talented import Waterford (IRE) has long promised to win a stakes race and he did the job in spectacular fashion at Rosehill on Saturday when scoring a dominant win in the $300,000 Group II ATC Shannon Stakes (1500m).
G2 Thousand Guineas Prelude Victory To Ferivia
Successful in the Group 3 Quezette Stakes two starts back, the Phillip Stokes trained Ferivia secured victory in the Group 2 MRC Thousand Guineas Prelude, becoming the second Group winner in the last 24 hours for the stable after the success of Snow Mercy overnight in the Group 3 Scarborough Stakes.
Golden Rose Colts – Sires of the Future
The $1million Group I ATC Golden Rose (1400m) this Saturday offers the winner far more than prizemoney and assuming it’s a colt he is given a golden ticket to a commercial stud career, so let’s take a look at this year’s contenders, who would you want on your stallion roster in 2026?
Manaal Wins G2 Golden Pendant – Stakes Double Emirates Park
At the official Sydney 2YO trials two years ago in 2023 two fillies impressed in their heat with Gerringong winning and Manaal finishing a close third and the pair filled the quinella in the $400,000 Group II ATC Golden Pendant (1400m ) at Rosehill on Saturday.