Carter not afraid to roll forward with Beside Me
Matt Markham - Raceform • January 29th, 2026 12:43 PM • 4 min read
Carter Dalgety isn’t in the habit of leaving things to chance out on the track, and for that reason you can expect to see Beside Me looking to take bad luck out of the equation at Addington on Friday night.
It helps having a bit of horsepower in front of you to back up your confidence, and Dalgety is certainly blessed with that in the royally bred four-year-old ahead of the $60,000 Gr.2 Garrards Premier Mares Championship, especially off the back of her very impressive fresh-up victory seven days ago.
It was that performance, and, more importantly, what has transpired in the week that’s followed which has Dalgety brimming with confidence ahead of this week’s assignment.
“She’s in a really good space at the moment, which is nice for a change,” he told RaceForm.
“It hasn’t been the easiest task with her, we’ve had a lot of problems with hormonal things with her – a lot like we did with All You Need Is Me as well. When she’s on, she’s really good, but when things aren’t quite right, she’s often well below her best.
“But, right now, we seem to be on top of things which helps our confidence levels.”
A failed mission to win last year’s Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks gave Dalgety and his parents Cran and Chrissie a chance to reset and rebuild with the daughter of Downbytheseaside and Dream About Me, and so far it’s working well.
“We just haven’t been chasing our tail like we were leading into the Oaks. She’s had a good build-up and a couple of public runs and that showed last week. I was able to drive her pretty confidently first-up and she was really strong through the line.”
This week’s assignment is a little different to the last though. The Premier Mares’ Championship has drawn a field that is arguably the deepest it’s been for over a decade, with some really quality mares taking part. While the task is definitely tougher, Dalgety’s confidence isn’t wavering.
“She’s had a great week. I think there’s a bit of improvement in there too, which we will need.”
With a Group One assignment in a couple of weeks looming, no one will be out to do anything seriously silly this week. But it’s an opportunity to stake an early claim for the mares and from a good front-line draw, Dalgety is keen to make the most of it.
“Looking at it now, I’d be silly to try and go back with her. Then I end up with the good ones that have drawn on the second row. But if I can roll forward and get handy, then we’ll at least be making them chase us and she’s shown how good she can be in front.”
Another winner from last week, Debbie Lincoln, has drawn to her inside and looks likely to also press forward while Nothing But You and Winelight have drawn well down near the markers and would be expected to roll forward as well.
Then there’s Francent, who has drawn the outside of the front row but probably has enough speed to get across them if Sam Ottley chooses to do so.
“It’s a really good field, heaps of quality. Even a mare like Esmeralda, who has drawn the second row, could be dangerous if things work out for her.
“We’ll just have to come out and see how things unfold, but I wouldn’t be scared to put her on the speed if we get the chance.”
Beside Me forms part of a very strong book of drives for Dalgety for his parents on Friday night, with strong expectations that Show Stopper can avenge his defeat last week in a fresh state early on in the night.
Former Australian trotter Tetrick will look to go back-to-back after his Oamaru run and Treacherous Dreams also looks to have strong credentials for his assignment.
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