BEHEMOTH

KRISTEN MANNING

A MIGHTY ANIMAL WHOSE “BONES ARE TUBES OF BRONZE, HIS LIMBS LIKE BARS OF IRON.”

The Old Testament (Job 40:18) describing the Behemoth.

FROM DAY ONE THE THOROUGHBRED VERSION OF SAID BEHEMOTH WAS SOMEWHAT OF A STAND-OUT. “BIG AND GAWKY,” WERE THE FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF LINDA MONDS WHO HAD THE PLEASURE OF BRINGING THE FUTURE GROUP ONE WINNER INTO THE WORLD.

Born at historic Tyreel Stud on October 21, 2015 the son of All Too Hard was considerably larger than the average foal but what he lacked in compactness he made up for in temperament.

“Even as he grew bigger and bigger he was never intimidating,” Monds recalled, adding that “he always had a beautiful, relaxed demeanour. He was a gentle soul.”

Linda and her husband Laurence bred Behemoth under the banner of Wallings Bloodstock named in honour of Linda’s parents Helen and David Wallings, long time lovers of the thoroughbred.

For as long as Linda can remember her family has been dabbling in breeding and racing, gaining great pride from such simple pleasures as cheering home a runner in a Newcastle maiden.

After a couple of decades in the business world the lure of the thoroughbred proved too strong for Linda and Laurence and when Tyreel, the showpiece property developed by the late Jim Fleming, came on the market they could not resist.

Six years on and what great success they have enjoyed, Behemoth part of a great 2020 that has also seen them cheer on the likes of Everest winner Classique Legend and the dual Group One winner Montefilia.

A strong force at the sales, Tyreel each season choose a group of horses to sell as weanlings and in 2016 the big All Too Hard colt out of the Listed winning Zedrich mare Pretty Banger colt was one of those... and Monds was proud to present him.

“He had such a beautiful walk, a lovely action - he was just large. But we did really well with him fetching $120,000.”

Purchased by Heritage Bloodstock as a pin-hooking proposition, the bay continued to grow as he headed towards the yearling sales. Linda Monds didn’t see him as he paraded at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Yearling Sale but Tyreel stud manager Rob Sims did, reporting that “he is huge!! But he still has that really nice, loose action.”

Something that also caught the eye of bloodstock agent John Price who was at the sale in search of suitable horses for Grand Syndications. His pedigree had impressed Peter Morley and the company’s racing manager Sam Lyons but it was feared that, on the back of his weanling sale price, he would be out of their reach.

“And for that reason I was not there when he went through the ring,” Lyons said.

But fortunately Price, who had jokingly described the colt as being “fat as a whale,” was, and for just $6000 the big fella was theirs.

And they were delighted, looking past the colt’s bulk and seeing the “beautiful frame” within it... “and he moved so well,” Lyons said.

“He did not have the most attractive of heads,” he recalled, “but it’s not a beauty contest!”

Whilst writing emails to the horse’s new owners, Lyons would refer to him as “The Behemoth” and when the time came to officially name him it stuck... and thirteen shareholders from all around the country began an incredible racing journey.

Gelded early, Behemoth broke in well and was soon showing above average talent. Despite his size (he is 17hh and over 600kg), he always had pace and was forward enough to race twice at two. Finishing off nicely at his Balaklava debut in June 2018, he was unlucky not to win at Gawler next time out - charging home despite costing himself considerable ground by racing greenly.

Still raw when resuming his career a few months later he was nevertheless able to record dominant victories at Morphettville and Moonee Valley and everyone involved was getting excited.

“David Jolly said to us early that ‘you might have a Group One horse here’ which was an amazing thing to hear from such an astute trainer,” Lyons said.

Quickly progressing through the grades, Behemoth was, in just his third preparation, second in the Redelva Stakes-Listed, 1100m and the Goodwood Handicap-Gr.1, 1200m, then freshened for a winter campaign that saw him break through for his first stakes success in the Penny Edition Stakes-Listed, 1400m.

It was in 2020 that he would really make his mark however, awarded the D.C McKay Stakes-Gr.3, 1100m (after the original winner Jungle Edge returned a positive swab) en route to a winter/spring treble... the Spring Stakes-Gr.3, 1200m, the Memsie Stakes-Gr.1, 1400m and the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes-Gr.1, 1400m.

HE IS SUPER COMPETITIVE, IF YOU WATCH HIS RACES YOU CAN SEE THAT HE LIKES TO DRAW UP TO OTHER HORSES, SLOW DOWN AND LAY IN A BIT ON THEM BEFORE HE REALLY LETS DOWN, IT IS LIKE HE IS PLAYING A GAME WITH HIS RIVALS. AND WHEN HE MAKES HIS RUN HE PINS HIS EARS RIGHT BACK.

Sadly of course his delighted owners could not be on course to enjoy the Group One glory in person but footage of Sam Lyons roaring from his lounge room quickly spread across social media and owners celebrated in similar vein.

Hopefully there is more in store for Behemoth who is gaining a following amongst racing fans, his popularity of course partly due to his talent but mostly due to his size and the name that goes with it.

“It has become part of his legend,” Lyons laughed. “People who are yet to see him tell me that they can’t wait to see him in the flesh!”

To go with his size, Behemoth is also big in personality.

“He is an interesting horse,” Lyons said. “He loves his own company, he is a bit of a loner but also a softie. Though when he was younger he did enjoy dropping his riders just for a bit of fun!”

Behemoth’s personality was something that stood out to trainer David Jolly right from the start, and talent soon shone through as well.

It was as a spring two-year-old that Behemoth first made his way to Jolly’s Goolwa stables and he admits that he did not know what to expect.

“When I was first told he was coming I looked him up, saw what he cost and thought that he must be missing a leg or something!”

But what turned up was a horse who looked far classier than his price tag suggested and immediately Jolly thought of him more as “the $120,000 weanling than the $6000 yearling.”

“He never looked like a juvenile, at two he already had the head and the style of an older horse. We took him to the beach a couple of times and then to the track. We didn’t push him but even then working with older city winners he looked like he was getting the better of them.”

Telling connections that this was a horse worth looking after, Jolly took things slowly. Two starts at two, trips to Melbourne and Sydney, the horse progressing and maturing with each experience.

“He is a highly intelligent horse who needed to learn how to harness his natural talent into becoming a racehorse. Early days we had to be careful with him, he could use his weight against you and it seemed he could not get through any piece of work without wanting to do something silly at the end of it.”

Such as dumping a rider and trotting off along the beach, head proudly perched high as though he had just played a great joke on his people!

Time, patience and gentle handling has seen Behemoth progress. “He is so much better to deal with now,” Jolly said. “It was as though early on he was just that bit confused, he had the raw talent but didn’t know what to do with it.”

As a five-year-old with 18 starts under his belt, Behemoth is still lightly raced and the best may still be to come for the “big horse with a big presence.”