It’s wild to think what a difference six days makes in racing.
On Sunday, Albury trainer Mitch Beer and his team were racing at Narrandera, a small country track in the Southern Districts of NSW, and they were tickled pink to taste success with Your Not The Boss winning the 1200m Country Boosted Maiden Plate.
Six days later, Beer had bigger fish to fry at Flemington, with the team venturing down south on Saturday and winning the $175,000 Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final (1200m) with Mnementh.
The Albury galloper is undoubtedly the stable’s star, earning a cult following in the Southern Districts after starting 29 times for ten wins and seven placings, earning connections over $550,000.
Three starts back, Mnementh delivered Beer his first Wagga Town Plate victory, while last start, he turned out in The Goodwood.
“I can’t tell you how good a horse he’s been for me,” Beer said in an interview with Racing.com following the victory.
“He’s just gotten better as he’s got older, and he’s won when he had to a few times when I was kicking off training.
“I’ve had him for a long time. He’s like part of the furniture and a bloody good part of the furniture, too.”
Racing down the Flemington straight, Blake Shinn was in the saddle, and the NSW galloper went to the front from gate 5.
In fact, Mnementh was never headed, with the $11 chance winning by three-quarters of a length from the Danny O’Brien-trained It’sourtime (Jye McNeil, $3.90), while over two lengths away in third was the James Cummings-trained Zethus (Ben Melham, $9).
“I told him (Shinn) he is a great chaser,” Beer said.
“He loves sitting off them and running them down, and he (Shinn) said, ‘There’s no speed in the race, and we’re going forward’, and I said, ‘Aye, aye captain’ and away we went.”
Mnementh’s recent feats have highlighted a remarkable turnaround for the six-year-old, which has aged like a fine wine.
He couldn’t win a non-TAB country cup at Tocumwal only 16 months ago but has since gone on to win multiple races in town, which were a precursor to his recent Stakes and Town Plate victories.
“About 18 months ago, we had him ready for the Country Championship in NSW, and I thought he was unbeatable, but he bled,” Beer said.
“We got him home, and we changed everything about him. We changed what we fed him, where he lives, everything and his form just completely turned around.
“Sometimes, in this game, the best things can come from one of your worst results.”
There’s no rest for the wicked, with Beer and his team back to the grind, with the stable set to start a team of four at Corowa on Monday.
“We’ve only got to get back to Corowa by Monday, so we’ve got a bit of time up our sleeve,” Beer quipped.
