Nothing foolish about Beckford’s Folly in G3 Cornwallis Stakes

Beckford’s Folly registered a first Godolphin success in the G3 Newmarket Academy Godolphin Beacon Project Cornwallis Stakes as he lowered Newmarket’s five-furlong course record for two-year-olds on Friday, 10 October.
Royal blue runners had been victorious in all other eight Group races run at the Dubai Future Champions Festival, with Sound And Silence’s neck second in 2017 the previous best result in the juvenile sprint.
Lining up over the minimum trip for the first time after a disappointing run in the G3 Sirenia Stakes, Beckford’s Folly broke alertly for William Buick and soon tracked the leading trio of Revival Power, Aspect Island and Brussels.
Revival Power blazed a trail for the 10-strong field before being pressed for the lead by Brussels and Aspect Island entering the final furlong, with Beckford’s Folly and Spicy Marg also laying down their challenges.
Beckford’s Folly quickened strongly to go on with Brussels in the final strides, with the Charlie Appleby-trained runner getting the verdict by a nose despite jinking left on the line.
Charlie Appleby said: “Beckford’s Folly showed a lot of potential on his second and third starts, which left us thinking that we hopefully had a Stakes horse.
“We walked away from the Sirenia Stakes disappointed, but this horse has been a challenge and full credit to Tara Murphy, who has ridden him from day one. We have taken him away from the main yard down to the small yard and he gets turned out all day.
“He was a challenge from start to finish at Kempton and I could only see him going one way, which is why we made the call to geld him. He is still a challenge but a lot more amenable now. I think coming to Newmarket helps him as well because it is up the road and we can control everything.
“Oisin [Murphy] rode him over six furlongs at Kempton and said he has a lot of natural pace, having felt he emptied in the last 100 yards. I was delighted there was pace on today because I felt that, if he could hang on to the coattails of them, he was always going to come home.
“Whether he is a horse for Dubai, I don’t know as that could be a challenge for him, although at least over there we could ship to the track a couple of hours before. The other option is to leave him here and look for pots next year.”