Magic Millions 2YO Classic 2024 Tips and Best Bets

The Gold Coast Magic Millions kicks off the 2024 racing season with a bang, highlighting the country's best up-and-running 2YO’s.

It has also attracted the top tier jockeys to ride with James McDonald, Jamie Kah and Blake Shinn all travelling north for their respective rides.

The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained Storm Boy is all the rage after two dominant victories but will face his stiffest challenge yet.

Can he live up to expectations? Luke Hovhanesian has gone through the race and found his best plays.

 

Track Conditions

The Gold Coast track has been lashed by rain over the previous two weeks, with 300m falling over that period.

A further 100mm of rain is forecast ahead of the feature event but officials are confident this should pose no concerns.

Last year’s Magic Millions were called off after just 13mm of rain, but a new surface and ground crew are set to manage the big day.

The track should be in the Soft 5 range, but it will pay dividends to pay close attention come Saturday.

 

Gold Coast Race 8 - Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m)

The Map

As is standard in these big prize money races, the tempo will be fierce out of the barriers with jockeys all vying for the best position for their mount.

The top three horses who are given a chance by the bookies, Storm Boy (10), Spywire (12) and Arabian Summer (9) are front-running types who have drawn wide.

They will be forced to work early to kick up and hold a prominent position.

Highness (4), Wolfgang (2) and Erno’s Cube (7) should all get great positions from their soft draws and land in the moving line.

Don’t be surprised to see outsiders in this field flip their racing pattern and pester some of the more fancied runners up front.

 

The Favourite

Storm Boy ($2.50) heads the market after a dominant victory at Eagle Farm last start.

He didn’t have it all his way on that occasion, sitting three deep on speed for large parts of that race.

He still had the energy at the end of all this to kick strongly to salute by 2.5L.

 

 

Easy to see why he has come up as favourite, yet the price on offer is complete poison.

The formlines out of both events haven’t stacked up well at all and he is going to have extreme pressure in this race.

The last start effort may have been a real gut-buster and I am happy to play around him at the current price.

 

Tips

It’s not often I prefer the Melbourne formlines to Sydney’s, but the talented filly Arabian Summer ($7.00) looks very well placed.

She has improved after each run and enters this contest with more experience than a lot of her rivals.

She showed great versatility last start, being able to sit off the speed before pulling away.

 

 

Granted she didn’t beat much on that occasion, it was the way she attacked the line over the 1100m that gives me hope she can go to another level at 6 furlongs.

Harry Coffey sticks for the ride and the McEvoy team sure knows how to win a Magic Millions race.

Looks like the value of the field to me and happy to play each-way.

 

Parkour ($12.00) comes through a similar formline to Arabian Summer, running second to her on debut, before going on to win next start.

He has a lethal turn of foot, and while drawn wide will drift back in the field regardless.

If they overdo it in front, he is the one I want to be on storming home.

 

Rounding out my top three is the impressive colt Spywire ($5.00), who you could argue should be undefeated in his career.

An aggressive ride from Willow got him home last week and the quick backup could be a lethal tool that gives him an edge over his rivals.

James McDonald goes on and when he teams with Maher / Eustace alarm bells go off.

 

Storm Boy ($2.45) to round out exotics.

 

1st Arabian Summer

2nd Parkour

3rd Spywire

4th Storm Boy

 

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