By Brad Gray
At Rosehill Gardens
Gongs is a “very special filly” according to Darren Beadman and her professionalism saw her make it two from two at Rosehill Gardens.
The two-year-old belted her rivals on debut at Canterbury and backed that up in the Merry Christmas ATC Members Handicap (1100m) to remain undefeated, prompting talk of the Golden Slipper.
Gongs "did it both ends"
“They didn’t serves it to her on a silver platter and she had to do a bit of work to get the job done. She is nice and relaxed and conserves her energy,” said Beadman.
“She did it both ends. She has got a touch of class and brilliance about her. I’m a huge fan of Dawn Approach and he’s on the board now. I think he has got a very special filly here.
“James (Cummings) could have easily tipped her out (after her debut win) and just brought her back for the Slipper classic races but her demeanour led him to go this way.
“We’ll sit down and have a bit of a talk but hopefully she is here on the right day.”
Impressive win from @godolphin filly Gongs! That’s 2/2. pic.twitter.com/5DOh9PRWUX
— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) December 9, 2017
TAB kept Gongs at $15 for the Golden Slipper, on level pegging with stablemate Elessedil. As far as improvement goes, Beadman expects it to come physically.
“I don’t think there is much more mentally she could improve on. She is like a four year old mare. She hasn’t got much muscle definition about her, she is quite slabby but she has got a good engine and that’s what counts.”
Gongs, who was heavily backed to start $1.45 with TAB, was given a confident ride from Kerrin McEvoy suggesting that her attitude is what is winning her races.
“She is one to keep an eye on that’s for sure into the autumn,” he said.
Check out all the results and replays for Saturday's Rosehill Gardens meeting