Beautiful Child on the rise to National glory

By Jordan Gerrans

Ace Queensland broadcaster John “Bunny" Brasch summed up promising stayer Beautiful Child’s career trajectory flawlessly last Thursday evening.

The Ben McGrath-prepared chaser had just won her sixth race on the bounce in a heat of the Queensland National Distance series.

“Beautiful Child steps up to the big time,” Brasch said at the conclusion of the staying event.

The daughter of Rumbling Away won in 41.24 seconds over 710 metres to book her place in Thursday’s decider on the Q2 Parklands surface.

Novice trainer McGrath is aiming to book his up-and-coming bitch into a slot at the Group 1 Nationals, which will be held at Sandown Park on the last Saturday of this month.

The Wakerley-based McGrath has slowly built his two-year-old bitch up in trip in recent weeks, scoring three on the bounce over 600 metres before doing the same over the 710 metre journey.

In only his third year of training chasers, McGrath is pinching himself that he may have a runner competing in the prestigious Nationals later in August.

“I've been lucky,” he said of his first few years of training.

“It's been good.

“I do sometimes question, why me, about stuff like this because we had some luck with Slippery's Way and Little Lies before Beautiful Child came along.”

McGrath also prepares the talented He's Regal, who is an 11-time winner in 41 attempts.

While he is a relative newcomer to greyhound training, he has been around racing his entire life.

A young McGrath strapped horses for gallops trainers while also driving trackwork in the harness code.

He still harbours ambitions of driving in a harness race one day, but with Group-class chasers in his kennel at the moment, that dream may have to go on the backburner for a little while.

He helped then premier harness trainer Kevin Thomas as a teenager while also working closely with legendary Queensland gallops trainer Roy Dawson.

He was keen for a career in racing, but his father John pushed him down the path of school and education. 

“I've been involved with a couple of good horses years ago, just strapping,” he recalls.

“But, when it's yourself training now, it is a different ballgame.”

McGrath owned Rumbling Away, who won seven times and placed on 13 more occasions, when she was prepared by veteran mentor John Dart.

Beautiful Child comes from her second litter to My Redeemer. 

Dart, as well as, the respected Gregory Brennan and Hall of Fame mentor Tony Zammit have been close allies of McGrath’s as he has aimed to build knowledge in the greyhound code over the last few years.

“We have always been involved with racing as a family and Johnny Dart's just been like a second father to me with the phone calls and the learning from him,” he said.

“Tony, I did about 18 months with him, as well, just one day a week on the weekends.

“I did a bit with Greg Brennan in the early days. So, I think if you surround yourself with good people, you give yourself every chance.

“I've got no ego where I think it's all my doing, it's picking the brains of the best.”

In Thursday’s prestigious Final, Beautiful Child has drawn the red alley.

She is undefeated in three attempts from the one box and will need to hold out fellow heat winner Soiree and the talented Goldstar Prada to advance to the Nationals in Victoria.

McGrath, who runs Annual Pest Management for a day job, isn’t counting his chickens before they hatch, but he has high hopes his emerging stayer will be prominent on Thursday evening.

“If she comes out like she can, it puts the pressure back on Soiree and Goldstar Prada because they can get back a little bit,” he said.

“If she can come out like she does, they're going to have to have the skates on to catch her.

“In theory, that's how she'll pan out in the speed map, but it doesn't always happen like that either.

“I went to the 700 metres pretty quickly with her, I just thought that was going to be her best distance with her box speed.

“A lot of stayers are back markers, so she's doing it from both ends, which puts her in a pretty good position.”

Beautiful Child has raced at a high level throughout her short 21-start career, contesting the Group 3 Young Gunnettes as well as the time-honoured Pop Northfield Memorial Maiden series at Casino.

The National Sprint Final will also be held on Thursday, with the race contested over 520 metres.