Danny Beasley may well have had second thoughts about his impending retirement as he politely reeled off a winning treble at Wagga on Friday. The popular horseman won on Victory Roll for Patrick Murphy, Mathrin for Michael Travers and Letme Entertainyou for his great mate Tim Donnelly. Not only did Dan ride all three winners with the polish you’d expect from a multiple Gr 1 winner, but the performance took him to a very healthy 61.5 wins for the season. This current purple patch comes just a few weeks after the official announcement of his intention to become a full time trainer.
There were no prizes for guessing Dan’s future plans from the moment he was granted a dual training and riding licence last October. Stabling offered by Wagga trainer Tim Donnelly has enabled him to dabble with three horses in recent months, with training success already coming his way. Danny Beasley broke new ground when he trained and rode Tropical Breeze to victory in a $50,000 Super Maiden on his hometrack five months ago. By his own admission it was an eerie sensation to have the burden of double responsibility. Tropical Breeze is owned by Mark Newnham, now training successfully in Hong Kong.
This was a special moment for Danny Beasley - His first win under a dual licence with Tropical Breeze at Wagga 05/01/2024 - courtesy Trackpix Racing Photography.
When I tracked Danny down on Sunday morning he was watching ten year old daughter Phoenix play competition netball in Coolamon, a quaint little Riverina township forty kilometres from Wagga. “With Tim’s help I would have been happy to keep riding for a while yet, but stabling accommodation came out of the blue,” he said. “Ten boxes came up at Gary Colvin’s wonderful complex a stone’s throw from the racecourse. Gary himself uses thirty boxes, Darrell Burnet has another thirty and my ten will put a total of seventy horses in the place. I’ll also have the use of a walking machine, treadmill and swimming pool. Obviously the sudden availability of these great facilities put the pressure on me to make a decision. An opportunity like this might be a long time coming again.”
Danny Meagher (wearing hat) and Danny Beasley became a strong combination in Singapore racing.
Danny knows what this retirement business is all about having quit for the first time in Singapore seven years ago. He first arrived in the island nation in 2008 with a very impressive CV. At the time he’d ridden close to 1200 winners including fourteen at Gr 1 level and had been on some high profile horses for some of Australia’s leading stables. Over the next nine years he was destined to win another ten Gr 1’s among hundreds of winners and was right at the top of his game when he made the snap decision to retire in 2017. “I was forty one years old and felt it was time to start learning other things in racing with a view to my long term future,” said Danny. “How lucky I was to become assistant trainer to my great mate and fellow Aussie Danny Meagher. Apart from stable duties I continued to ride trackwork in Kranji barrier trials. I had the best of both worlds for four years.”
Danny Beasley was very fit and had his weight under control when the riding bug bit again in 2021. He made a seamless return to race riding, and it wasn’t long before he was getting strong support from a number of local stables. He certainly wasn’t banking on further success at the elite level, but was in for a pleasant surprise. “Lim’s Lightning gave me a wonderful treble of Gr 1’s by winning the Lion City Cup, Raffles Cup and Singapore Gold Cup while Lim’s Kosciuszko won the Singapore Derby. I’ll always be grateful to Danny Meagher and owner Lim Siah Mong for making my comeback so special.”
The last Gr. 1 of Danny Beasley's stellar career - the Singapore Derby on Lim's Kosciuszko.
Similarly, Danny had zero expectations when he returned to Australia at the end of 2022 with his Malay born wife Ash, son Mikayl and daughters Phoenix and Sonique. With Sydney riding ranks at optimum strength he decided to ride out his twilight years in his beloved Riverina, much to the delight of his father Bob, mother Judy and siblings Amy, Renee and Sam. Danny was mightily relieved when his wife and family quickly settled into their new lifestyle.
He remains in awe of the support he’s had since returning to Australia. For a while he was making frequent trips to Saturday metropolitan meetings and was thrilled to notch two Randwick doubles in two weeks. The first was courtesy of Cliff House for Tim Donnelly and Pascero for the Busuttin/Young partnership. A fortnight later he won a TAB Highway on Salute Again for Wayne Carrol, and later in the day rekindled an old association with Kris Lees in winning the listed Civic Stakes on Ucalledit.
Danny wins on the big horse Cliff House at Randwick in June 2023 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Sandwiched in between those two Randwick meetings was a Saturday metro meeting at Kembla. Just to make sure his homecoming was under notice, Danny reeled off another double on Treize for John Sargent and Shadow Raiders for Blake Ryan. He’s obviously been concentrating mainly on southern districts meetings where the winners have flowed consistently since his return eighteen months ago. His best individual performance to date came over the Wagga Cup carnival last year when he won five races over the two days.
On day one he scored on Cliff House for Tim Donnelly before booting home four consecutive winners on Wagga Cup day. “I was disappointed to miss a place on Another One in the Wagga Cup but I’m grateful to have won a Wodonga Cup and a Canberra National Sprint on this very good horse,” said Dan. “Another One and Cliff House are unquestionably the two best horses I’ve ridden since returning home.”
Danny wins the Canberra National Sprint on Another One for Wagga trainer Gary Colvin - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
The popular horseman needs only a millisecond to reply when asked to nominate the best horse he’s ridden in a thirty year career. His ability to ride at a featherweight landed him on Grand Armee in the 2003 Doncaster. “Jim Cassidy had won the Ajax Stakes on the horse at Rosehill but had no hope of making 51.5 kgs to ride him at Randwick,” recalled Danny. “He was never out of second gear to win the Doncaster by three lengths from Dash For Cash. I finished up having twelve rides on Grand Armee for seven wins including six Gr 1’s. My other five rides resulted in second placings all at Gr 1 level. I was the villain of the piece the day he upset Lohnro in the Queen Elizabeth, but I was thrilled because I’d devised a plan by which I hoped to beat the champ. I was pretty chuffed when it all worked out. Grand Armee is the best horse I’ve ridden beyond doubt.”
Danny doesn’t expect to train a horse of Grand Armee’s calibre but hopes to be given an opportunity with well credentialed stock in future years. He was stunned recently to receive a phone call from racing legend Neville Begg seeking his availability to train two young horses. “You could have knocked me over with a feather,” said Dan. “I got to know Mr. Begg during my apprenticeship to his son Graeme and I was in awe of his knowledge. To think all these years on I’d be training horses for him is hard to get my head around. One of them is a two year old Starcraft filly who got to “jumpout” stage before being turned out, while I’m looking forward to welcoming a yearling Written By filly into my new stable.”
Danny and his all time favourite Grand Armee combined for 6 Gr.1 wins. This was the most famous, the 2004 shock defeat of Lonhro in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
It’s almost certain the curtain will finally come down on Danny Beasley’s distinguished riding career at Gundagai on Saturday June 29th. “There’s a meeting at Wagga on June 17th but that’s a Monday which makes it difficult for family and friends to be in attendance,” he said. “Gundagai on a Saturday makes it much easier for some special people I’d love to have there on the day.”
Danny remembers the mixed feelings he experienced on his final day of riding at Kranji in 2017. He felt a tinge of sadness as he slipped out of his riding boots, for what he assumed would be the last time. Four years later he was pulling the same boots on again. This time when the boots come off in the Gundagai jockey’s room on June 29th, they’ll be destined for inclusion among his souvenirs. Danny Beasley can slip gracefully away from the ranks of NSW jockeys content in the knowledge that he’s served the industry well. His loyalty to owners and trainers has been unshakeable, his respect for the industry is well documented. His career record testifies to his talents as a jockey. He’ll be using the same proven formula as he moves into the new phase of his working life.
Love this early one of a young Danny Beasley after a win on Zanetta on the Kenso track in 2001 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Ucalledit wins the listed Civic Stakes at Randwick in June 2023 to complete a double for Danny Beasley - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)