Ever astute Mitchell Beer was obviously chuffed with Sunrise’s win at Kembla Grange on March 22nd but preferred to keep things in perspective. The mare had only four opponents in the Cl 1 sprint and enjoyed the luxury of a 3kg claim for Coriah Keatings. She had an uncontested lead in the 1000m “scamper” and showed no tendency to overdo things as she had on several occasions in her first Australian preparation. Even allowing for these obvious “favours” Sunrise exceeded Mitchell’s expectations in the run down the long Kembla homestretch. Her winning margin of 7.3 lengths over odds-on favourite Quartz Legend is rarely equalled or bettered on any track. But wait there was one more surprise to come! The filly’s time flashed onto the semaphore - 55.58 on a track rated a Soft 5, a new course record. The trainer began to reset his thinking one month later when Quartz Legend came out to easily account for a Cl 1 field on the same track over the same distance.
Sunrise (Coriah Keatings) made quite a statement at Kembla on March 22. She won a Cl 1 event by 7.3 lengths running a track record in Soft 5 conditions - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Mitchell opted for a five week gap between runs for Sunrise with Saturday’s 1100m BM72 Midway the ideal target. The trainer outlined all of the filly’s traits to Rachel King and left it in the safe hands of the globetrotting jockey. Sunrise jumped only fairly from the inside gate but her natural brilliance quickly overcame that little hiccup. Not only did she show no desire to get on her way, but by the 600m she’d actually “come back underneath” her jockey. “That wouldn’t have happened at any stage in her last preparation when she knew only one speed,” said Mitchell. “It was gratifying to see her finally conserving energy. She showed a great turn of foot on top of the rise by which time most of her rivals had come off the bridle. The margin wasn’t as great as her Kembla romp but I’ll take a three length Randwick win anytime. She’s an improving mare.”
Rachel King had her first ride on Sunrise in Saturday's Midway. Needless to say she was impressed by the filly's easy win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Mitchell Beer Racing acquired Sunrise in a most unlikely way. Going back in history a little we find that the filly was originally offered by New Zealand’s famous Windsor Park Stud at the 2023 Karaka Sale where she was knocked down to trainer John Bary for $30,000. Her six start NZ career was hardly inspiring but did include a couple of Trentham seconds, and one win in a four horse two year old event at Tauherenikau, a picturesque course in the Wellington region where five race meetings a year are conducted. Interesting to note she also started in the Karaka Millions 2YO Fillies edition finishing a long way from winner Velocious. The fact that she suddenly appeared in the 2024 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale catalogue would suggest there were doubts about her racetrack future in NZ.
“Thanks to the good work of my Racing and Bloodstock Manager and great friend Stephanie Grentell, my attention was drawn to Sunrise,” Mitchell recalled. “For a start Steph was impressed by her pedigree. She’s by Charm Spirit who’s by Invincible Spirit, sire of the iconic stallion I Am Invincible. Her dam Daily At Dawn was a two time Geelong winner and is by the highly regarded Dawn Approach. Her granddam is Brand New Choice, a daughter of Redoute’s Choice who raced only twice but won a two year old race at Moonee Valley. Steph informed me Sunrise’s scans and x/rays had all checked out and suggested this filly was worth a look. We nailed her for $45,000 and took her home to NSW. I reckon Steph would have given her an almighty cheer when she dashed away from them on Saturday.”
Sunrise’s ownership group comprises around thirty enthusiasts, many of whom live in the Wollongong region. Sitting atop the filly’s list of owners is JJJ Racing, a Wollongong owned enterprise founded and managed by great mates Jared Fish and Ben McGinness, long time friends who share a common passion for racing. “Jared and Ben decided to launch a small social media operation with the main focus on tried horses like Sunrise,’ said Mitchell. “Because of their presence in Wollongong, they seem to attract people from this region and they like to have their horses trained in the area. The colours carried by Sunrise and several other runners are the JJJ Racing silks. Here they are in detail - navy blue, JJJ Racing logo, white sleeves, pale blue armbands, and pale blue cap featuring a navy blue star.”
Thanks to the wonders of syndication smaller players get to enjoy the thrill of a win. Sunrise's many owners were out in force on Saturday - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Sunrise was spelled immediately after being purchased on the Gold Coast and didn’t appear until August of last year. Following a Nowra trial she made her Australian debut with an unplaced effort at Hawkesbury. Then followed three consecutive placings and a close up fifth on the Kensington track. Mitchell made the decision to pull up stumps when the filly disappointed at Kembla in mid November. “When we started the campaign, she was wanting to overdo it in her races and on the training track,” he said. “Towards the end she was much more relaxed but was starting to lighten off and had definitely come to the end of it. She’s been a totally different filly this time in.”
Fourteen months ago Mitchell Beer Racing moved swiftly when twenty boxes became available at Kembla Grange racecourse. He’d been training successfully from an Albury base since early 2019, but felt the time was right to try his luck a little closer to Sydney. For quite some time he continued to operate a smaller satellite stable in Albury while gradually building up the Kembla arm of the business. Today the thirty six year old trainer has forty horses in work at Kembla and just recently closed down his Albury stable. He does however maintain a ten horse stable at South Nowra expertly managed by Luke Musson. Mitchell speaks highly of his assistant trainer George Carpenter with whom he’ll form an official training partnership in the 2025/2026 season.
Sky Thoroughbred Central's Greg Radley caught up with Mitchell Beer after Sunrise's emphatic win - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Life has moved at a rapid rate for the son of former respected jockey Les Beer who rode more than a thousand winners, predominantly on provincial and country tracks in Victoria. Mitchell was a frequent visitor to race meetings during his father’s riding days and learned the language of the track at an early age. He says he didn’t know how to put a halter on a horse when he started his new job at the Flemington stables of leviathan owner Lloyd Williams. He was there for four years and would have stayed longer had Williams not moved his entire operation to Macedon Lodge. Mitchell was able to remain at Flemington when offered a job by the late Russell Cameron who became a trusted friend and mentor over a four year period. Then came a stint as assistant trainer to Jason Warren on the Mornington Peninsula by which time thoughts of a solo training career were starting to emerge.
Mitch drew closer to that goal when invited to join Mornington veteran Max Hinton in an official training partnership. The duo flew off the mark when Jacqui’s Joy won first up at Kilmore before reeling off consecutive wins at Caulfield. A few weeks later Max and Mitchell combined to win the Gr 3 Typhoon Tracy with Almighty Girl at a Moonee Valley night meeting. The partnership was amicably terminated some time later when Max reverted to an individual role, while young Mitchell prepared for his life changing move to Albury.
Mitchell with sister Ashlee who's been a key figure throughout his training career.
Some 300 wins later Mitchell Beer has emerged as a very serious horse trainer with a unique slant on life. No matter how tough the going gets, he looks on the bright side and never loses his sense of humour. Those traits have endeared him to staff and the many owners who’ve come into his life these past few years. A quote he gave me in a 2019 podcast best describes his amazing attitude. “Trainers usually get more bad news than good, and most of the bad is beyond his or her control. You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself, and you’ve got to have a laugh no matter what. It’s easy to handle winners and success. Dealing with the bad news quickly allows you to get on with the good things. A happy stable is a good stable”. Aspiring young trainers should take a leaf out of Mitchell Beer’s book.
Mitchell’s steady flow of winners is headed up by his all time favourite Mnementh whose record stands at 35 starts for 11wins, 7 placings and $689,000. Those wins include a Wagga Town Plate beating dual Kosciuszko winner Front Page, a listed Sprint Series Final at Flemington and a listed Bob Charley Stakes at Randwick. The evergreen 8 year old gelding trialled pleasingly at Newcastle recently and will seek a second Wagga Town Plate success this week. “He doesn’t know he’s eight years old, and I couldn’t be happier with him,” said Mitch. “He’ll go fresh up into the Town Plate with a strong chance.”
Mnementh (Alysha Collett) scored a well deserved Sydney black type win in the 2024 Bob Charley AO Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Mitch went agonisingly close to pulling off a remarkable training feat with Redouble in the spring of 2020. Bjorn Baker had commissioned him to bring the gelding up from a spell with a view to having him ready for the Kosciuszko. Following two impressive barrier trial wins Bjorn made the decision to leave the son of Redoute’s Choice in the Albury trainer’s care right up to the Randwick feature. It’s now history that Redouble looked the winner when he grabbed the lead close to home only to be nailed on the line by the classy mare It’s Me from the Brett Cavanough stable.
Mitchell had a lot of time for Princess Cordelia whose four wins included TAB Highways at Rosehill and Randwick. He won four races with Sky Call including a $150,000 SDRA Championship at Albury. Swagger was a bargain buy for the Beer stable. Sourced out of NZ for just $16,000 the gelding won races at Wagga and Albury and a TAB Highway at Randwick. Another NZ “cheapie” to pay his way in Australia was Hanger who won a $100,000 Echuca Cup and missed narrowly in a BM88 at Rosehill before going amiss. Power Me Up showed little in three runs for a Sydney stable before finding his way to the Beer yard. He would go on to win five races including a Narrandera Cup. Three of his wins were consecutive.
Mitchell was very attached to talented Casino Prince mare Sunrise Ruby who raced only a dozen times for four wins and three Randwick placings. Three of her wins were at Albury, the other in a TAB Highway at Randwick when she charged home from last to win brilliantly for Glen Boss.
Image 8 - Sunrise Ruby came from near last to brilliantly win a TAB Highway at Randwick in 2021. Glen Boss rode the mare for the Beer stable - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
We’ve already highlighted a trademark Mitchell Beer quote from a 2019 podcast. We’ll leave you with another gem from the archives of Australia’s most philosophical horse trainer. Flashback to August of 2021. Just twenty four hours after winning a TAB Highway at Randwick with Sunrise Ruby he embarked on a 400 km road trip to the Forbes Cup meeting with three runners on board his three horse angle loader. All three stable runners finished out of a place, and then came the prospect of a four hour return journey to Albury.
Few horse trainers in the same position would have seen anything to smile about, but Mitchell as usual saw the funny side. The regular social media user posted a brief message on Twitter (now “X”) shortly after his third runner for the day pulled up at the tail of the field. “The rissole and onion gravy sandwiches being served up at the Forbes canteen are nothing short of outstanding. An absolute credit to the club.”
Thirty minutes later he was on his way back to the Riverina. Two of the horses in question were retired the following day. They threw the mold away after they made Mitchell Beer.
(Banner image - Sunrise complete with cross-over noseband blitzes her rivals in Saturday's Midway - courtesy Bradley Photographers.)