Kingswood seeks redemption in the 2025 Ballarat Cup
Gavin Bedggood secured a valuable Stakes victory at Caulfield on Saturday, but the win didn’t erase the disappointment he felt over a key pre-race decision.
The trainer conceded he realised early in the day that he had misjudged conditions with Kingswood, despite later claiming the feature race with Casino Seventeen.
Kingswood had been favourite for the Eclipse Stakes, but Bedggood scratched him on the assumption the Soft 7 track would remain too testing. Instead, the rain never came, the surface improved to a Soft 6, and the race unfolded perfectly for his style.
Even with Casino Seventeen delivering Bedggood the Group 3 Eclipse Stakes and breaking through for his first win since arriving from Perth, the trainer was still kicking himself.
“I’ve felt sick about it all day,” Bedggood admitted.
“It was a Soft 7 this morning, they run the first race and they upgraded and we’ve had no rain. If the owners were upset at me I wouldn’t blame them either.
“It was going to be wet and it hasn’t eventuated. That was my blue.
“I didn’t want to give him a gut-buster with the idea of backing up next Saturday, so I thought we’d reserve him for that.”
Kingswood now turns his attention to Saturday’s $500,000 Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m), where he’ll attempt to right the wrong from last weekend.
Casino Seventeen is set to join him after earning his first win for Bedggood. His updated record now reads an amusingly neat 55: 11–11–11, a career that has taken him through stables in SA, Darwin, NSW, WA and now Victoria.
Bettors looking to follow Kingswood or Casino Seventeen into the Ballarat Cup can find the best odds via Australia’s leading betting agencies.
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