Risky Investment Proves a Sound Investment

Gai Waterhouse likened Sunlight's first foal to her maiden Sydney 2YO Triple Crown winner, which explains why she was so keen to secure the colt on Day 3 of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. The Hall of Fame trainer paid $1.4 million for the son of Justify, who was produced for sale by Coolmore. Waterhouse was taken by the powerful…

The Les Ross-trained filly Mishani Aloha will be set for the $3000000 Magic Millions 2yo Classic at the Gold Coast on January 13 after doing the right thing by the sponsors when breaking her maiden in the Kobayashi At Aquis Hcp (1200m) at Doomben on Saturday. Mishani Aloha too speedy in the first at Doomben!…

Ben and Jd Hayes have had just one starter at the Gold Coast in their short careers as head of Lindsay Park Racing, Zayydani finishing sixth in last year's Group 2 Hollindale Stakes (1800m) at 60-1. That number will triple come Saturday and the brothers would be quietly confident of having something to show for it, with competitive chances in both…

Juvenile galloper Coleman has lived up to the high expectations placed on him ahead of his first start at Caulfield. Those that supported the son of Pierata into $2.20 favouritism with online bookies in the Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) on Wednesday had little cause for concerns as Ben Melham guided the colt to a 1-¼ length win. Trainer Matt…

He was impressive winning the Wyong Magic Millions Classic a fortnight ago and the Peter & Paul Snowden-prepared Sovereign Fund ($1.70) would not have lost any admirers saluting by over three lengths at Doomben on Saturday. The son of Capitalist led from barrier to box to easily defeat Mishani Renegade ($9), with Sunsource ($2.45) a further three…

Promising type Piraeus can put himself on a path to a three-year-old stakes tilt when he hunts a hat-trick of wins in Wednesday's Huckel Excavations Benchmark 64 Handicap (1350m) at Wyong. Trainers Richard and Will Freedman have their son of Merchant Navy racing in top form and will raise the bar again in the gelding's fourth career start. Piraeus…

Racing is underway at a gloomy Aquis Park Gold Coast on Magic Millions Raceday, with the heavily backed Ezekeil doing the right thing for punters in the $500000 Magic Millions Country Cup (1200m). Ridden by Jamie Kah for Cody Morgan, Ezekeil sat just off the pace before putting the race to bed at the 300m. The 4yo son of Divine Prophet defeated…

Sydney's summer sprint find Dehorned Unicorn has surprised trainer Joe Pride with his form surge. "If you said to me at the start of Dehorned Unicorn's preparation that he would do what he has done, I would have said I don't think he is that good," Pride said. "But the way he has been able to win his races and the times he has run has been very…

Top Queensland trainer Tony Gollan says he has the best Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic chance he has ever had. Picture: Grant Peters-Trackside Photography. Tony Gollan has declared x-factor filly Skirt The Law is the best chance he has ever had to score the race which has eluded him, the $2m Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic. Gollan has…

The TAB's Glenn Munsie says there is a chance Tony Gollan's filly Skirt The Law could become the new Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic favourite. Picture: Grant Peters - Trackside Photography. Empire Of Japan has been the long-time Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic favourite but the TAB's Glenn Munsie feels there is a chance he could be…

Ciaron Maher broke new ground on the Gold Coast on Friday, paying the most he has ever paid for a yearling. Victoria's leading trainer went to $2.5 million for the first foal from Group 1 winner Booker, a colt by sire-of-the-sale I Am Invincible, on Day 4 of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. The colt was the third most expensive of the…

Tony Gollan has declared x-factor filly Skirt The Law is the best chance he has ever had to score the race which has eluded him, the $2m Gold Coast Magic Millions 2YO Classic. Gollan has long been Queensland's premier trainer but the closest he has come to winning the Magic Millions was when stablemates Outback Barbie and Ef Troop finished third…

Classy sprinter Eleven Eleven is out to make history with a fourth win at the Magic Millions carnival on Saturday. Picture: Getty Images A rousing track gallop from Eleven Eleven has given trainer Greg Hickman a timely boost of confidence on the eve of his sprinter's historic attempt at a fourth win at the Magic Millions at the Gold Coast on…

If there is an art to training two-year-olds, Peter and Paul Snowden have mastered it. They have trained the winners of all the feature juvenile races including two Golden Slippers, three Blue Diamonds, five ATC Sires Produce Stakes, five Champagne Stakes, two JJ Atkins Stakes and a Magic Millions. "I enjoy training any horse but we are lucky to…

On Thursday, two fascinating divisions of the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Previews at Sandown-Hillside take place, with numerous first starters adding to the intrigue. Seven of the ten acceptors for the colts and gelding preview will be making their career debuts. The likely favourite is the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained The Instructor. The son…

Paul Snowden and Gai Waterhouse believe the draws for Magic Millions Classic favourites Empire Of Japan and Platinum Jubilee will allow them to be in the right place on Saturday. Platinum Jubilee's gate seven will become barrier four if the emergencies are not required, while the double-figure draw of 11 for $4.60 favourite Empire Of Japan is not…

Rachel King, rider of talented filly Infatuation, believes the absence of a standout two-year-old makes the barrier draw even more crucial ahead of the $2 million Magic Millions 2yo Classic (1200m) on the Gold Coast on Saturday. "It's one of the more open Magic Millions we have seen in the last few years,'' King explained. "There is usually one or…

While only four runners will face the starter in a Two-Year-Old Handicap over 1200m in the second race at Eagle Farm tomorrow … it remains a contest rich in interest with three of the four runners involved yet to have their colours lowered in race action. The importance of the race in terms of being a stepping-stone towards the $2 million Magic…

Victorian trainer Matt Laurie will make a rare foray to Sydney in a bid to test the Magic Millions credentials of unraced filly Mount Dove. A half-sister to stablemate and dual stakes placegetter Bay Thirteen, Mount Dove has emerged as somewhat of a surprise packet for her trainer, who wasn't expecting her to be an early-season juvenile. "I didn't…

Gai Waterhouse has won more than a quarter of all Magic Millions Wyong Classics and the Hall of Fame trainer has again targeted the race with one of her leading contenders for the Gold Coast follow-up. Summer Loving will continue her path towards next month's $2.5 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast via Wednesday's 1100-metre…

An elated Anthony Cummings extended the family's rich connection to the VRC Oaks to four generations after his classy filly She's Extreme silenced the doubters that she would be too brilliant to stay the 2500m journey. In the most popular win on a memorable Oaks Day, the daughter of sprinting star Extreme Choice started a hot $2.30 favourite and…

He might only be 29, but Ciaron Maher and David Eustace's bloodstock manager, Will Bourne, certainly knows how to pick out talented young horses. His name was deservedly mentioned after Coolangatta's courageous 1/5-length win in the $1 million Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) at Moonee Valley last Friday night. It was Bourne who saw great value in the…

The benefit of race experience proved beneficial for Charm Stone when the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained filly scored at Flemington. Victory in the Group 3 Ottawa Stakes (1000m) on Thursday came at Charm Stone's second start on the Flemington straight course. Charm Stone finished third to Zulfiqar in the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes on October…

Queensland's Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap could be the big 2022 goal for slashing Gold Coast Magic Millions 3YO Guineas runner-up Me Me Legarde which will also have some big fish to fry in the Sydney autumn carnival. Me Me Legarde will trial on her home Gold Coast track on Monday in her first public outing since storming home from the back to finish…