Benefiting from an ideal post draw, Beaten Up bested favorite Foreteller by three-quarters of a length in the Aus$500,000 Kirks Doomben Cup (Aus-I) May 18 in a one-two finish for trainer Chris Waller.
The former British-based runner snapped a seven-race winless skid with aplomb. Ridden by Leith Innes, he asserted himself in the straight when multiple group I winner Manighar faded on the lead, then repelled Foreteller and highly regarded mare Secret Admirer for a three-quarter-length victory.
Waller opted to send Beaten Up for the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4 mile) race only after the 5-year-old Beat Hollow gelding drew post 1 in the 13-horse field. He finished a nose second in the Rowley Mile May 4 at Hawkesbury but rebounded to deliver Waller a seventh group I win of the season.
At 9-1 odds, Beaten Up covered the distance in 2:04.34 on turf rated as "dead."
Stablemate Foreteller won the Ranvet Rawson Stakes (Aus-I) March 23 at Rosehill Gardens. Following a runner-up finish by a neck to Lights of Heaven in the Wimmers Soft Drinks A. D. Hollindale Stakes (Aus-II) May 4, Foreteller was narrowly defeated again in the Doomben Cup as the 4-1 favorite.
Mutliple group I winner Secret Admirer finished third, followed by Manighar in fourth.
Formerly trained in England by William Haggas, Beaten Up earned his first group win and gave Waller a second triumph in the Doomben Cup, following Metal Bender in 2010. Haggas' father co-owns Beaten Up, who finished ninth in his Australian debut for Waller March 30 at Rosehill.
Beaten Up started his career with three consecutive wins as a 3-year-old for Haggas, including the 2011 St. Simon Stakes (Eng-III) at Newbury, but failed to win again after finishing sixth in the 2012 Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE-I) in his 4-year-old debut.
Bred in England by J. B. Haggas, Beaten Up is out of the winning Akarad mare Frog and is a half brother to English group III winner Harris Tweed and stakes winner Vow. He is among 30 stakes performers for Beat Hollow, who stands at Ballylinch Stud in Ireland.
