Matteo digs deep to hold on in Beverley Two Year Old Trophy

Matteo was supposed to make Beverley look easy. Instead, Kevin Ryan’s colt had to show a far more useful quality for a juvenile: he had to take a punch and answer it.

The 11-10 favourite was sent straight into the 5f Two Year Old Trophy by Kevin Stott in a nine-runner field, and for much of the Beverley contest he looked like a colt with the race under control. He had already won on debut over the same course and distance, so the market spoke loudly, but the finish told the real story. Inside the final furlong, 50-1 outsider Ronson ranged up to ask the question no odds-on prospect wants to hear. Matteo dug in, kept finding, and got back on top late to win by a short head, with the official result recording that he had made all before holding on.

That was the best part of the performance. Not the margin, but the fact he found more when the easy win had gone. Kevin Ryan has been strong with his juveniles, with a 30% strike-rate around this period, and Matteo now looks more than just another sharp debut winner. Stott said the colt showed the sort of pace and ability you want in a young horse, and Beverley suggested he has the temperament to use it when it matters. On debut he simply had to dominate. Here, he had to compete.

The Royal Ascot angle is obvious. Beverley’s own race-day materials pitch the Two Year Old Trophy as a trial, and the race has earned that tag. Shareholder won this same event in 2024 and landed the Norfolk Stakes 12 days later. That matters because the Norfolk is a 5f race on Thursday 18 June at Royal Ascot, so Matteo has already forced his way into that conversation. If he can sharpen up from this scare, the form line says he belongs with better company.

There is also a commercial edge to the result. Matteo, by Coulsty out of Debutante’s Ball, cost €43,000 as a yearling and landed a €50,000 Goffs Orby Book 2 bonus with the Beverley win. Ryan called it “nice to get the €50,000 bonus” and described him as a “lovely, strong yearling.” That may be the most important label of all: not just unbeaten, but tested, professional and still improving.