Beakstown may not have got his head in front in his first season chasing, but he posted some solid efforts in defeat and appeals as a well handicapped type who looks worth keeping onside in the 2020/21 campaign.
Trained by Dan Skelton, this seven-year-old developed into a smart hurder when winning two of his four starts.
In the last of those over in a Grade 2 over 2m 5f at Warwick he travelled omously well throughout before staying on strongly to beat Stoney Mountain by 3 3/4 lengths to be rated 142.
Beakstown, who is a strapping sort, then had his attention switched to a larger obstacles at the start of last season and ran really well first time up at Wetherby when a three length runner-up to Sam Spinner.
He then shaped far better than the bare result when a tenderly hanled 10 1/2 length fourth of six to subsequent RSA winner and now 161-rated Champ at Newbury,
The son of Stowaway raced too keenly and pecked badly four from home before weakening late on and was not not knocked about in any way shape or form behind a rival rated 12lb his superior at the time..
Beakstown was also tenderly handled next time up when finishing a 16 1/4 length third of six to Mister Fisher at Cheltenham.
The winner went on to land a Grade 2 at Doncaster before rounding off the campaign with a fine 4 1/4 length fourth of 12 to Samcro in the Grade 1 Marsh Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
Beakstown was allotted a handicap mark of 139 on the back of those efforts and looked to have been laid out for the Listed 2m 4f Northern Trust Company Novices’ Handicap Chase on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.
In the race itself he ran very well to finish a 12 1/2 length fifth of 20 to Imperial Aura, where after being held-up he made good headway to be close up chasing the leaders before getting slightly outpaced approaching the last and then staying on again on the run-in.
To my eyes it was a fine effort given that he still looked far from the finsihed article. With a summer to strengthen up and fill his frame there could be bags more to come from Beakstown next season.
I think there are races, and a big handicap to be won with him, with possible early season targets being the BetVictor Gold Cup and/or the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
It will be disappoiting if he doesn’t prove much better than his current handicap mark of 139.