David Hayes has proved himself a past master in taking horses right through the grades in Hong Kong, so there looks to be a lot of upside for royally-bred Beverly Dreams in the final event.
The three-year-old has raced on just two occasions, for a splendid first-up second over the seemingly unsuitable distance of 1,000 metres, followed by a second-up win in Class Four over 1,400m.
On that occasion, Hayes instructed jockey Gerald Mosse to use Beverly Dream's speed to offset the 14 barrier and the French riding ace did just that, kicking him out of the stalls and crossing to lead comfortably. With a rest in the middle stages to get his breathing right, Beverly Dream took off again in the straight and still had 13/4 lengths to spare when the judge called a halt to the slaughter.
Although this race has significantly more talent, Beverly Dream has a lot more depth to him as well. And that's no surprise considering his pedigree, which has Group One branding on both sides of the tabulation.
Beverly Dream is by Zabeel, best known locally as the sire of QEII quinella Vengeance Of Rain and Greys Inn. However, Zabeel is an even more revered stallion in Australia and New Zealand, where he has headed the sires' premierships (both countries separately) and left the exceptional tally of 32 individual Group One winners.
The female half of Beverly Dream's pedigree is no less impressive. His mother Zedagal was a Group Three winner of the Blue Diamond Prelude for juveniles at Caulfield. She is also a sister to the champion sprinter turned successful sire Zeditave, winner of 14 of his 17 starts from 1,000m through to 1,600m. On the face value of his last start, Beverly Dream is just one of the chances in the Class Three over 1,400m. But if he makes the anticipated level of improvement, he'll be winning.
