Matthew Kelley won the biggest race of his career at Royal Randwick on Tuesday with the ever-consistent I’ve Bean Tryin’ triumphing in the $250,000 Barn Dance (1300m).
The five-year-old Spill The Beans gelding out of Sheza Lonhro has been a stable star, starting 18 times for seven wins and three minor placings, earning connections just shy of $500,000 since hitting the track in late 2021.
Kelley, who started out in the Snowy Mountains town of Cooma before setting up shop in Canberra, was thrilled to celebrate a massive moment in his training career.
“I know this wasn’t the Melbourne Cup, but that felt like the Melbourne Cup for me,” Kelley said.
“I’ll remember it for a long time.”
In a hotly-contested field, which brought together the best county-trained sprinters in NSW, the Canberra galloper drew sticky with gate 13, with jockey Jason Collett forced to go back as the Pat Murphy-trained Body Bod led the field along at a very fast clip.
Collett and I’ve Bean Tryin’ trailed the Matthew Dale-trained Cavalier Charles into the race, and the pair were the widest runners as the field straightened for home.
With a well-timed run, I’ve Bean Tryin’ ($5.50) finished in the nick of time to beat Cavalier Charles (Tommy Berry, $5.50) by a neck while gamely hanging on for third was the Danny Williams-trained Bandi’s Boy (Jay Ford, $5).
“What a ride,” Kelley said.
“We just get so upset with these barriers all the time; he keeps drawing the car park and keeps trying to beat the barrier all the time, and sometimes he runs out of distance in the race.
“Today, we were kind of in the same boat, but we had Jason on, and he’s got a good feel for the horse, and he’s a bloody good jockey, so we thought we come here, toss up our chances, and it paid off.”
Kelley said it was a privilege to have a horse as tough and talented as I’ve Bean Tryin’ in his stable.
“I made the move first, and I was lucky enough he kind of followed me,” Kelley said.
“I’m lucky to have him, and he is a bit of a backbone of the stable; I’m not much of a trainer without him and glad to have him there.”
The Canberra galloper entered Tuesday’s race following an excellent fifth placing in last month’s $2 million The Kosciuszko when beaten just under five lengths by Front Page, and Kelley was quick to lock in his plans for next year.
“We’ll chip away for the rest of the prep and give him a couple more runs, look after him, find him a couple of nice races and definitely The Kosciuszko next time,” Kelley said.
