A quarter of the sixteen strong field of runners for the $2 million Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic will go into the big race defending their unbeaten records.
Sovereign Fund won the Magic Millions Wyong Two-Year-Old Classic on debut on December 14 and the Peter and Paul Snowden trained son of Capitalist then made it two from two when toying with his opposition at Doomben on December 31, when strolling in by 3.50 lengths.
Sovereign Fund’s sire Capitalist set a high bar for his progeny.
Capitalist also won the Wyong race. That was on the way to securing his win the Magic Millions Two-Year-old Classic at the Gold Coast, which he won with some aplomb. Capitalist went straight from the Wyong win to the Gold Coast, but Team Snowden elected to give Sovereign Fund that extra outing in preparation for the big one.
They are a stable well versed in preparing runners for big occasions so you would expect Sovereign Fund to be right on song on Saturday.
Sovereign Fund has already ticked one box following in his sire’s footsteps. To tick the next one and maintain his unbeaten record would be a fabulous achievement.
Barrier draw seventeen won’t do him any favours, but Jamie Kah is a big race rider who will negotiate a path for Sovereign Fund as well as anyone can and he does already have a win over the 1200m trip to his credit.
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Royal Entrance, who also boasts a record of two wins from two starts, only secured his place in the final field with his win in the Gold Nugget at the Gold Coast last Saturday (January 7)
A week earlier he was not in the top thirty on the Order Of Entry.
That result could prove to be useful in more ways than one as it also gave Royal Entrance a good look at the Gold Coast track under racing conditions, something none of the other three unbeaten horses have had.
James McDonald had the ride on that occasion, but the champion jockey will stay with Team Snowden trained Empire Of Japan … the current race favourite. Tim Clark will now ride Royal Entrance for the first time.
They will jump from a useful number nine barrier position as he goes out to race beyond 1100m for the first time.
Croatian Belle is yet another runner with a record of two wins from two starts and, like Royal Entrance, he also needed a relatively late win to make the final line-up.
The Ben and JD Hayes trained Brazen Beau filly was only twenty-seventh in the Order Of Entry on December 26, but she landed that vital win on December 31 at Moonee Valley.
Croatian Belle is drawn twelve and Michael Dee, who road her to victory in that all important December 31 assignment, will be in the saddle. The 1200m trip brings in a new factor as both of Croatian Belle’s wins to date have been over 1000m
Skirt The Law … you’ve guessed it … has also put two wins on the scoreboard from as many starts.
The Tony Gollan filly, who will jump from barrier four, is lucky enough has the two targets to aim at as the daughter of Better Than Ready qualifies for the lucrative Magic Millions Racing Woman’s bonus, which is distributed on a first to fourth place finish of horses owned entirely by women … irrespective of where they finish in the race.
Of the four unbeaten runners, Skirt The Law is the only one who will be partnered by the same jockey all the way through to the Millions.
Ryan Maloney, as accomplished a rider as anyone else will again take the reins.
*The barrier draw includes emergency acceptors at this time … three of which have drawn inside the top ten, so the final draw positions will change come race-day.