Beak family enjoying dream ride with Kohler Kid

By Jordan Gerrans

A retired Townsville Cup-winning rider and her extended family are enjoying the ride of a lifetime with “untapped” galloper Kohler Kid as the grey heads towards Saturday’s time-honoured Winx Guineas at the Sunshine Coast.

Prepared by Michael Lakey at Deagon, the three-year-old has already scored in two feature events in his short nine-start career.

At his most recent outing, the son of Spieth was a barnstorming winner of the T L Cooney on Ipswich Cup day.

Kohler Kid is owned by former top jockey Elyce Beak (nee Smith) and her husband Jesse and her grandmother-in-law Valda.

Beak was a prominent rider in Central Queensland before stepping away from the industry a few years ago.

Her name was back up in lights at Callaghan Park earlier this year when Kohler Kid claimed the prized 2026 Capricornia Yearling Sale QTIS 3&4YO Classic Handicap.

For Lakey, he is delighted to have a carnival-class galloper in his barn, while also being thankful for the opportunity the Beak family have presented him to prepare the promising horse.

“It doesn't matter what kind of stable you are, big stables, little stables, I think everyone, gets up every morning for trying to get the better horses,” Lakey said.

“It's probably a bigger thrill just for our owners.

“They're from Rockhampton and they put the faith in us to send the horse down here and it's starting to pay off.

“We went up there and won the Rocky Sales race. The whole aim this time in was going to be the Winx Guineas.

“So far, it's all gone to plan. He's won an extra race on the way through at Ipswich.”

Feature race glory is nothing new to retired hoop Beak.

She lifted the 2020 Townsville Cup aboard Shiranda for Mackay trainer John Manzelmann when she was still an apprentice.

Beak retired in the back end of 2021 to take up a career as a teacher.

She hardly limped to the finish line either, riding nine winners from her last 50 engagements before she did eventually call time on her career in the saddle.

Beak has stayed involved in the caper through ownership as she races Kohler Kid alongside her husband’s family, while she also has gallopers with Bluff horseman Bill Trimble and her younger brother Tom Smith, who trains out of Rockhampton.

Beak and her husband are now based at Mackenzie River, which is between Emerald and Bluff.

Kohler Kid put in an eye-catching performance at Ipswich earlier this month to land the prize in the T L Cooney over 1350 metres.

Experienced rider Justin P Stanley found the ideal gap in the home straight and timed his run to perfection to get his nose down on the line, ahead of Platinum Pantheon and Call Da Vinci.

“He's come through the run really well, he hasn't left any feed or anything like that,” Lakey said.

"All the indications he's given us are that he's ready to rock and roll again on Saturday.

“It was a big jump from racing in a restricted race at Rockhampton back in Brisbane, but all the indications that he showed us that he's got a fair bit of ability.

“All the jockeys have just said with time, we've got a really nice horse.

“So, whether it's his time this weekend or maybe next prep, but he's certainly going the right way about it at the moment.”

Kohler Kid steps up to the mile on Saturday afternoon in the Winx Guineas at Caloundra, but he is yet to win past 1400 metres.

The grey gelding had one crack at a mile earlier this year in a city Saturday race.

The 59-year-old Lakey thinks the 1600 metres shouldn’t be a concern in the Group 3 event, which offers a prize purse of $300,000.

“He's a horse that has a tendency to, he's a get-back horse, but races really strongly in the run,” the Deagon-based horseman noted.

“So, he'd probably have to be able to just settle a little bit in the Winx Guineas. He'd probably need the pace on to be able to get the mile.

"He had one crack at a mile last prep before he went for a little freshen-up.

“So, possibly riding him a bit quieter and if he settles, I'm sure that he'd run a good race.”

Lakey works with a dozen gallopers on Brisbane’s northside and is regarded as one of the good blokes in the training ranks.

As he only has a smaller barn, Lakey can be more hands-on with a horse such as his current stable star. 

“Kohler Kid is quite a highly strung young baby,” he said.

“He's nice and quiet around here at the stables, but it probably helps him in some ways, being in a smaller stable, that's for sure.

“So, he's starting to show it now.”

Lakey only has a couple of black-type victories on his resume over the last 25 years or so and he is hopeful his fast-finishing grey gelding can add to that.

“It's a thrill just to make the field,” he said.

“I think he's untapped. He's got untapped ability at the moment. He's just doing it on just raw ability at the moment.

“But, once he puts it all together and if he can learn just to chill out early, he just wants to overdo it a little bit, but if he chills out and just relaxes in his races, I'm sure that he'll be able to show that finish time and time again.”

Before heading to Caloundra on Saturday, Lakey will start Moonan Quartz in the Class 3 Handicap over 1400 metres at Eagle Farm on Wednesday.