Mornington Glory: Group 1 success for up-and-coming trainer

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

The trainer, jockey and owners of Mornington Glory all make for a great story but the horse himself is some tale as well; from catching everyone's eye early as a sale-topping yearling purchase to a big debut win that had tongues wagging to retirement just five starts later.

It seemed at the time that Mornington Glory was going to be one of those 'what if' stories of the turf, a horse with so much talent but with issues that made him unlikely to fulfil his potential.

Hailing from the first crop of the then Arrowfield Stud and now Woodside Park Stud-based Shalaa (Ire), Mornington Glory has aspects of his career in common with his dual Group 1-winning sire.

After winning five of his first six starts including the G1 Prix Morny and the G1 Middle Park S., the John Gosden-trained Shalaa was forced to the sidelines, not racing between September 2015 and October 2016; resuming with victory in the G3 Bengough S.

Mornington Glory took longer to find his Group 1 form, but he too had a lengthy break, away from the track between October 2022 and September 2023.

Heart issues

Whilst Shalaa's problems were injury (pelvic)-related, Mornington Glory was having heart issues; on more than one occasion after a fast gallop or a race pulling up with cardiac arrhythmia.

On veterinary advice, he was retired at the age of four, enjoying his life of leisure in the Moorooduc paddocks of his managing part-owners Rob and Sharon Cummings.

Fans of Shalaa, they also raced Shalaman who, having been a stakes-placed city winner at three, was placed for sale online in June last year. Gavin Bedggood put in the $25,000 winning bid for him and it was when picking him up at the Cummings' farm that Rob suggested he give Mornington Glory another try.

At the time there was a stewards’ embargo on the horse with Bedggood having to “jump through a few hoops” to get official approval for Mornington Glory to race again.

“He had to gallop and trial in front of stewards and gallop on the treadmill in front of Dr Laura Nath (a renowned cardiac expert) at the South Eastern Equine Hospital. She ticked him off and he was right to go.”

Gooree dispersal sale-topper

It was in 2020 that the well-related Mornington Glory caught the eye of his first trainer Matt Laurie and the agents Justin Bahen and Andrew Williams who teamed up to bid for the Gooree Stud-bred colt in July that year.

Williams, who was the sole representative of the group at the COVID-era sale, remembers the colt as being a real eye-catcher, “a big, strong horse who moved really well.”

“He was an imposing horse,” Williams told The Thoroughbred Report on Monday morning as he laughed saying that he had pulled up “a little worse for wear” having been deservedly celebrating a weekend that also saw a great return by another of his yearling purchases in Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai) in the G3 Concorde S.

“He was just the style of horse you like to buy,” he said, recalling that the "good judge" Scott Darby was the very keen under-bidder.

“There was a lot of activity in the room,” Williams said, remembering that Mornington Glory was the last lot of the yearling section of the Gooree Stud reduction; one which saw around 40 horses sold across a spread of Magic Millions sales.

“It was an interesting sale for a horse like him to end up at,” said Williams. "He really stood out.”

And it was a matter of the best being saved for last with Mornington Glory, at $360,000, the highest-priced yearling of the day.

Legacy lives on

Andrew Baddock was Gooree's Stud Manager at the time Mornington Glory was bred and he was delighted by the horse's Moir success, happy to see the legacy of the late Eduardo Cojuangco Jr live on.

“Eddie loved building families over generations and Mornington Glory is from one of those,” he said, noting that if not for the family's wish to disperse Gooree's racing stock, this horse was one they would've raced.

“Eddie didn't like parting with horses like him,” he said, Gooree home to Mornington Glory's G3 Breeders S.-winning, G1 Golden Slipper S. runner-up dam Crowned Glory (Danehill {USA}) and her city-placed dam Significant Glory (Bletchingly).

“I bought Significant Moment off the track,” Baddock said, remembering her as “a lovely mare with that plain Bletchingly head.”

“We sent her to Danehill not really realising just who we were breeding with at the time, he was standing for $30,000 then.”

The second of the Danehill (USA)/Significant Moment matchings produced Crowned Glory and she was still at stud at 20 with Mornington Glory her final foal. Gooree raced her other two stakes winners, the G1 Golden Rose and G1 Randwick Guineas winner Hallowed Crown and the G3 Carbine Club S. winner Needs Further who have both sired Group 1 winners.

“I think it is fair to call Crowned Glory a blue hen," Baddock said, ruing the fact that from her ten foals, she did not produce a filly.

But she saw our her breeding career in fine style, Mornington Glory her ninth foal to race and her ninth winner.

Baddock was not surprised to see Mornington Glory sell as well as he did, remembering him as being an eye-catcher from his early days. He was one of the two Group 1 winners Gooree sold at the dispersal, last year's G1 Tattersall's Tiara winner Palaisipan (So You Think {NZ}) the other.

Mornington Glory made his debut for the Laurie stable at Bendigo in September 2021, racing a little keenly outside the leader before drawing clear to an impressive 3.75l victory.

Thought highly enough of to contest Group races at his next two starts, he was a solid G2 Danehill S. fifth at just his second outing before his issues saw him finish a disappointing last in the G3 Zeditave S.

He would race just another two times for the Laurie stable, retirement beckoning.

Out of retirement

From the time he arrived at the Bedggood stables, Mornington Glory impressed.

“From day one you could see that he was a proper horse," Bedggood said. “A different calibre to the ones we'd had.

“He has all the attributes of a good horse, he is very relaxed, he eats well, has not had an unsound day, always scopes cleanly and never leaves any food.

“He makes my job easy, he is very straightforward.”

Monitored from afar by French company Arioneo's Equimetre, Mornington Glory has not showed any heart issues since his emergence from retirement with Bedggood's vet Dr David Shepherd suggesting that it was a matter of time.

“He just said horses like him need time and that either works or it doesn't,” Bedggood said.

It was in September last year that Mornington Glory made his debut for his new trainer, an encouraging second in a Class 1 contest at Ballarat.

He has not looked back since, at his next outing winning in easy fashion at Geelong, from there making his way through the classes and ending his first successful preparation for Bedggood with a game and somewhat unlucky G1 Oakleigh Plate third.

Group 1 form no fluke

And that Group 1 form proved no fluke with Mornington Glory in even better for this time in; below his best on rain affected going in the G3 Sir John Monash S. first-up but unbeaten since; three runs over the Moonee Valley 1000 metres; three wins.

It was his liking of the circuit and his tough win off a wide run in the Listed Norman Carlyon S. that encouraged Bedggood to take on the topliners in the Moir, a race which had been on the wish list since the start of Mornington Glory's campaign.

“I sat down at the start of his preparation and mapped out his program. The Norman Carlyon was always going to be form dependent as he was still benchmarked in a way that we could drop back a peg if we had to.”

After a win in that race Bedggood decided that “we had nothing to lose” tackling the Group 1 horses in the Moir and it was about 600 metres out in that race on Saturday that he was feeling pretty happy with that decision.

“He had his head on his chest, and I could see that he was motoring. I saw Lady Of Camelot was the first coming off the bit and I knew that my horse is pretty good off that Moonee Valley turn so my confidence grew from that point.”

Standing quietly until the final stages – “I started giving him a roar from the 100 metres,” Bedggood was more subdued after the race, finding the experience of winning such a big race “rather surreal.”

And a long way from his previous career highlight, winning the 2013 Warrnambool Grand Annual aboard the infamous jumper Banna Strand (NZ) (Danasinga).

“It is certainly different,” Bedggood laughed, “a 5500-metre race and a 1000-metre race!”

Winning the Grand Annual on such an iconic horse (google him if you don't remember!) was, Bedggood said, “one of my biggest thrills in racing.” One he has now topped as a Group 1 trainer.

Watch: Gavin Bedggood's win aboard Banna Stand (NZ) in the 2013 Warrnambool Grand Annual

“There is a lot more involved in being the trainer than the jockey,” he said, noting that doing the hard work over the years has taught him to “savour the wins.”

From Pony Club to Group 1

Bedggood was not raised in a horse family, his only equine contact being with cousins who rode a bit and girls at school who had ponies. He'd join them at pony club where he learned to ride, progressing to “doing a bit of eventing.”

Bedggood was very young when he started working weekends and school holidays for Cranbourne trainer Robbie Griffiths, leaving school and moving in with Robbie and Shiranee who he describes as “being like second parents to me.”

“They took me in and I learned a lot,” Bedggood (who at 17 returned to his education, completing his VCE whilst still working at the track) said, delighted that the couple were on course on Saturday to witness his success, “they were very excited and proud.”

Apprenticed for a short time to Griffiths before weight became an issue, Bedggood rode trackwork as well as a couple of seasons riding at the picnics where he steered home 35 winners.

That led to riding professionally over the jumps and over a 12-year period he enjoyed a number of elite-level hurdling and chasing victories including the Brierly Steeplechase at Warrnambool, the Von Doussa at Oakbank and three Australian Steeplechases.

Enjoying a close association with Robbie Laing over that time, Bedggood was always learning and the prospect of one day branching out on his own was “always in the back of my mind.”

Granted his licence in the spring of 2017, Bedggood purchased stables at Cranbourne; close to the course with boxes, day yards and paddocks allowing his horses to thrive.

His latest season was his most successful with 41 winners; a strong effort from a relatively small stable.

Hands-on training

He has proven equally adept with tried horses and youngsters and currently has 36 horses in work. Eleven new boxes have just been built with Bedggood content to have up to 46 in work, that number allowing him to remain “hands-on and be across everything.”

Enjoying the process of getting to know each of his horses, still riding trackwork along with his partner Karen Flaherty (seen on Saturday joyously cheering home her beloved horse), Bedggood is hoping that Mornington Glory will be the first of many big-race winners for the stable.

Meanwhile there is more to come from Mornington Glory who heads towards the G2 Schillaci S. at Caulfield on October 12 before a break with the G1 Black Caviar Lighting S. at Flemington in mid-February the aim for his next campaign.

After that, should his form warrant it, Mornington Glory may follow the Asfoora (Flying Artie) path; a trip to Royal Ascot the dream with Bedggood noting that his horse has on a couple of occasions beaten that mare home.

Mornington Glory is not the first tried horse that Bedggood has got the best out of, also enjoying terrific success with the popular multiple Group winner Just Folk (Magnus), the Listed winner Keats (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and the Listed Heatherlie H. winner No Effort (Reward For Effort).

Gallery: Some of the other tried horses Bedggood has had stakes success with, images courtesy of The Image Is Everything

The stable's statistics for the latest season make interesting reading; a 13 per cent strike rate with 42 per cent of the horses Bedggood sent out finishing in the first three.

The owners of Mornington Glory are enthusiastic supporters with Bedggood enjoying a Saturday evening phone call from Rob Cummings who was en route to China at the time the Moir was run.

“He has been a great addition to the stable over the last 12 months and I really appreciate what he has done for me,” Bedggood said.

Football friendships

Cummings played AFL football for a time and it is his ongoing friendships in that sphere that saw him enjoy his Group 1 success with other owners of Mornington Glory including Shane Crawford, Fraser Brown and Brett Ratten as well as well-known bookmaker Matt Tripp.

There is plenty of football history in the Cummings family, Rob's great grandfather Joe Johnson recognised as the VFL's first indigenous player whilst his father Percy, his great uncle Percy and his brother Trent were also players.

Mornington Glory's success was the fourth at Group 1 level for jockey Ethan Brown and his first since a horrific fall at Flemington in March last year, one which saw him endure several rounds of surgery on a lacerated liver with kidney damage, severe internal bleeding and three fractured vertebrae.

His biggest fan, his mum Sonia Donnelly was at Moonee Valley on Saturday and was one of those emotional figures in the winners circle having not witnessed any of his previous Group 1 victories live.