A racing partnership and a valued friendship that has lasted thirty years will be hoping to taste more success at Newcastle on Monday after picking up yet another winner at the Tamworth harness meeting last Thursday.
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Since their early days of working together in the banks trainer and reinsman Allan Beresford has raced horses along with his good mate Richard French, with Apollo Bam Bee producing their latest stable winner.
After a dream run in the Tab Odds & Evens Pace (1980m) at Tamworth Apollo Bam Bee will be looking to bag some more cash in the Toohey's Pace, commencing from the seven barrier over the shorter distance of 1609 metres.
The Tamworth run saw Apollo Bam Bee take advantage of an inside run when Beresford saw a gap opening up in front of him, and reading the race right guided Apollo Bam Bee to the win.
"The horse racing in front of me (Lembongan Lyf) rolled half off and I got inside him and then in the previous two laps the leader (Redbank Rendezvous) had run off the fence so as they say the quickest way home is on the fence," he said.
Apollo Bam Bee did not have to pass one horse, just take the inside run, with Apollo Bam Bee going on for a 4.2 metre win over Nice One Jon (Tom Ison) with Pure Laughter (Danny Mackney) 5 metres away third.
"It's always happy time when you win," Beresford said.
"She got beaten a hair last start."
Apollo Bam Bee came into the 1980 metre race off a last start second beaten a head by Terroroan from the Greg Coney stables Tamworth on May 18.
"She (Apollo Bam Bee) is improving and we have just changed her workouts. She always struggled a bit to get the 2000 metres but now she gets that easy," added Beresford of the Stunin Cullen-Take A Hint mare.
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Beresford and French commenced their partnership with the mare Take A Hint who produced 17 wins on the track before commencing her breeding career.
"We have bred four out of Take A Hint and there is nothing like racing a good mare, and she was a good mare, and this mare (Apollo Bam Bee) has always had ability but always just a bit anxious," Beresford said.
"The first horse out of the mare we sold and it won 12 races."
"It is always satisfying to breed a horse, always satisfying to break them in and always good to win."
French was trackside to witness the second win in Apollo Bam Bee's 35 career starts.
These days he is happy to be around the horses and not on the track but Beresford does recall French's first race drive.
"We have been mates since 1990 and I started him (Richard) in the game (harness) with a little filly called She's My Valentine and I am still a little bit jealous of him. His first drive in a race he sat outside the leader and won," he said.
