HALL OF FAME legend Gai Waterhouse AO is chasing a sixth Wyong 2YO Magic Millions Classic on Wednesday.
Waterhouse, who was recently elevated to Legend status – the highest honour in Australian racing – joining her father, the late TJ Smith, will be represented by $4 second favorite Toque in the $200,000 1100m feature.
Tim Clark will ride the unraced Street Boss filly, who cost $200,000 at the Magic Millions yearling sale at the Gold Coast in January, and has won both her recent barrier trials at Warwick Farm (815m on November 8) and Randwick (742m 20 days later).
Waterhouse won three Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classics when training on her own – with Pulsator (2005), She’s Meaner (2008), and Brightexpectations (2009 – and a further two with co-trainer Adrian Bott (Unite And Conquer in 2018, and Farnan a year later).
Clark rode Farnan, who a few months later landed the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes at Rosehill Gardens, with Hugh Bowman aboard.
Wyong Race Club celebrates the 21st running of the 2YO Classic, which began in 2003 when it was called the Strawberry Hill 2YO Slipper.
“This will be the first of a new three-year sponsorship arrangement with Magic Millions,” said new chief executive Greg Purcell, who began his role in August.
“We are proud of the fact that Wyong is the sole NSW provincial club associated with the Magic Millions company.
“Looking through the records, our 2YO Classic has proven a great lead-up to the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m), now worth a record $3m, at the Gold Coast on January 13.
“And it has also been a wonderful producer of future successful stallions at stud.
“Names such as Not A Single Doubt, Snitzel and more recently Capitalist readily spring to mind.”
Inaugural winner Not A Single Doubt ran second to subsequent Golden Slipper winner Dance Hero at the Gold Coast, and 2004 winner Snitzel ran third to Bradbury’s Hero at the Gold Coast the following year.
Three Wyong winners have gone on to win the Gold Coast Magic Millions, and another three were placed.
Karuta Queen (2010), Unencumbered (2013), and Capitalist (2015) captured the Wyong-Gold Coast double, whilst She’s Meaner (2008), Madeenaty (2016), and She’s All Class (2020) were placed at the Gold Coast after winning the Wyong 2YO Classic.
The equine influenza outbreak robbed Wyong of staging the 2YO Classic in 2007, so two runnings were conducted in 2008.
Waterhouse’s She’s Meaner (Blake Shinn) was the winner in February, and then David Payne’s Cortina Gal (Jeff Lloyd)was successful when the 2YO Classic returned to its normal timeslot toward the end of the year.
TAB.com.au has installed Spywire (Tyler Schiller) as a $1.50 for Wednesday’s race, as the powerful training combination of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace attempts to win the Wyong feature for the first time.
A son of Trapeze Artist, Spywire fetched $520,000 at the MM sale in January, and easily won a Rosehill 2YO Maiden Handicap (1100m) on November 15 when on debut.
Maher and Eustace withdrew the colt from the $200,000 Listed Phelan Ready (1000m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday to keep him for the Wyong race.
Spywire is currently a $6 second favorite for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast, behind another recent debut winner, Toque’s stablemate Storm Boy ($5).
Along with the 2YO Classic, Wyong also stages the MM 3 & 4YO Stakes (1200m), for which prizemoney has been boosted from $100,000 to $150,00.
Team Maher/Eustace has the first and second favorites Royal Merchant (Jason Collett) and Semana (Andrew Gibbons).
WYONG MAGIC MILLIONS 2YO CLASSIC HONOUR ROLL
2003 NOT A SINGLE DOUBT (G. Rogerson/L. Cassidy)
2004 SNITZEL (G. Ryan/G. Boss)
2005 PULSATOR (G. Waterhouse/Z. Purton)
2006 ILLUMINATES (G. Rogerson/Z. Purton)
*2008 SHE’S MEANER (G. Waterhouse/B. Shinn)
*2008 CORTINA GAL (D. Payne/J. Lloyd)
2009 BRIGHTEXPECTATIONS (G. Waterhouse/N. Rawiller)
2010 KARUTA QUEEN (N. Layt/T. Berry)
2011 HOSS AMOR (J. O’Shea/B. Avdulla)
2012 ASSAIL (C. Conners/P. Robl)
2013 UNENCUMBERED (B. Baker/N. Berry)
2014 ZOUTENANT (K. Moses/G. Schofield)
2015 CAPITALIST (P. & P. Snowden/B. Shinn)
2016 MADEENATY (D. & B. Hayes/M. Zahra)
2017 JONKER (D. Atkins/A. Bullock)
2018 UNITE AND CONQUER (G. Waterhouse & A. Bott/A. Hyeronimus)
2019 FARNAN (G. Waterhouse & A. Bott/T. Clark)
2020 SHE’S ALL CLASS (C. Waller/J. McDonald)
2021 SOARING AMBITION (A. Neasham/T. Berry)
2022 SOVEREIGN FUND (P. & P. Snowden/J. McDonald)
• Not run in 2007 because of equine influenza, so raced twice in 2008
Story John Curtis, December 11 - Pics Magic Millions
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