There was high drama in this year’s 2024 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas but after a lengthy delay top honours went to Robert Heathcote’s outstanding young filly Abounding.
Class filly Abounding best handled the lengthy delay to beat home the boys in the 2024 Gold Coast Magic Millions 3YO Guineas. Photo: Steve Hart.
As the horses were loaded in the original field, things went amiss when the unbeaten John O’Shea-trained Sydney Bowler reared in the barriers and found himself cast under the gates.
In horrific scenes at the Gold Coast track the horse was stuck and all the remaining contenders had to return to the yard as the seriousness of the situation increased.
Eventually a crew were able to dismantle the barriers and get a heavily sedated Sydney Bowler, who miraculously looked to have escaped serious injury, onto a float to the equine hospital to being his recovery.
Over an hour later the delayed $3 million Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (1400m) finally got underway.
Defiant Spirit led the field around while Heathcote’s eventual winner, classy Rich Enuff filly Abounding, got into a nice midfield position saving ground tucked up on the fence.
A last start Black-Type winner at Eagle Farm in the Listed Gold Edition Plate (1200m) from mid-December, Abounding had been kept fresh in a master move by Heathcote and the team.
It proved a winning call to give the up-and-comer a month between runs with comeback jockey Martin Harley able to guide the $175,000 buy to an impressive win in the lucrative feature.
“We made that call (not to run her two weeks ago),” Heathcote told Sky Thoroughbred Central post-win.
“She’d ever been to 1400m and I elected not to run her in a month.
“Now, here we are, we got the job done!
“There will be a nice bottle of red waiting for me at home.”
Harley got the best out of his mount coming with a huge late charge up the middle to see Abounding ($7) run right over the top of her rivals on the home straight.
The filly prevailed over Peter & Paul Snowden’s untapped roughie hope Sovereign Fund ($31) who was given a great ride up the inside late by Tommy Berry only to be denied victory running a head back second.
Rounding out the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas trifecta in third also catching the eye in a photo finish for the placing was fellow roughie, the Gary Portelli-trained Flying Trapeze ($41).
Incredibly it was just the third Magic Millions Day win on the Gold Coast for master Brisbane-based horseman Heathcote of Buffering and Rothfire fame, and he was full of praise for his “cranky” champion in the making.
“She’s got a lot of crankiness in her and I think that’s what makes her a really special filly,” he said.
“I’ve had some wonderful horses in my career. I always seem to get another good one coming through and she could be it.
“To get a Magic Millions Guineas winner, very, very special.”
With the Magic Millions Guineas victory Abounding also earned herself a guaranteed start in Melbourne’s 2024 All-Star Mile field at Caulfield on March 16.
Click here for the latest pre-field All-Star Mile 2024 odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au.
2024 Magic Millions 3YO Guineas Results & Finishing Order
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | ABOUNDING | Robert Heathcote | Martin Harley | 9 | 54.5kg | $7 | |||
| 2 | 3 | SOVEREIGN FUND | Peter & Paul Snowden | Tommy Berry | 0.2L | 4 | 56.5kg | $31 | ||
| 3 | 8 | FLYING TRAPEZE | Gary Portelli | Tyler Schiller | 0.5L | 18 | 56kg | $41 | ||
| 4 | 18 | PURE PARADISE | Lloyd Kennewell & Lucy Yeomans | Craig Williams | 0.6L | 20 | 54kg | $61 | ||
| 5 | 4 | ROYAL TRIBUTE | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Adam Hyeronimus | 1.1L | 11 | 56.5kg | $8 | ||
| 6 | 14 | INFATUATION | Bjorn Baker | Ms Jamie Kah | 1.3L | 12 | 54kg | $14 | ||
| 7 | 6 | DEFIANT SPIRIT | Stuart Kendrick | Robbie Dolan | 1.6L | 23 | 56kg | $26 | ||
| 8 | 15 | TRIFLING | Helen Page | Michael Rodd | 1.7L | 1 | 54kg (cd 55kg) | $18 | ||
| 9 | 1 | CIFRADO | Rex Lipp | Damien Thornton | 2.7L | 7 | 58kg | $7 | ||
| 10 | 5 | VANQUISHED | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Blake Shinn | 2.8L | 22 | 56kg | $18 | ||
| 11 | 16 | SUNSET DREAMING | Tony & Calvin McEvoy | Harry Coffey | 3.2L | 14 | 54kg | $31 | ||
| 12 | 12 | THE KING | Peter & Paul Snowden | Mark Zahra | 3.7L | 13 | 56kg (cd 56.5kg) | $21 | ||
| 13 | 2 | CHRYSAOR | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 3.8L | 8 | 58kg | $4.40F | ||
| 14 | 7 | WEIGALL TIGER | Kelly Schweida | Ms Cejay Graham (a) | 4.3L | 15 | 56kg | $18 | ||
| 15 | 9 | VEECEE | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Michael Dee | 10.1L | 10 | 56kg | $13 | ||
| 16 | 17 | ZOUPHORIA | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | 22.9L | 6 | 54kg | $26 | ||
| SB | 11 | DEEP RESPECT | Kelly Schweida | James Orman | 0 | 56kg | ||||
| SB | 10 | SYDNEY BOWLER | John O’Shea | Jason Collett | 0 | 56kg | ||||
| 22e | KING OF DUBAI | Jason Coyle | 0 | |||||||
| 23e | HELLFIRE EXPRESS | Annabel Neasham | 0 | |||||||
| 21e | GLASS OF ROSE | Jeff Dunn | Ms Rikki Jamieson | 0 | ||||||
| 19e | SHOW ME MERCY | Stuart Kendrick | Ryan Maloney | 0 | ||||||
| 20e | KEENAN | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | 0 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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