South Australian based trainer Tony McEvoy is not dismissing the chances of outsider Crockett who will race in the shadow of the highly fancied stablemate Sunlight in the $2m Magic Millions 2yo Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Leading Adelaide rider Jamie Kah, above, will ride Crockett in the 2018 Magic Millions 2yo Classic at the Gold Coast. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Sunlight, the winner of her last two starts, has the form on the board and is one of the top fancies at $4.40 with Ladbrokes.com.au while the stable’s second stringer Crockett is at the juicy odds of $31 for the Magic Millions 2yo Classic.
McEvoy has given Sunlight the perfect preparation with the Zoustar filly winning twice on the tricky Gold Coast track in the lead up to Saturday’s $10 million Magic Millions Race Day while Crockett’s best recent form was a second two starts back to Ef Troop in the Listed $100,000 Phelan Ready Stakes (1110m) at Doomben on December 16.
Crockett has since finished seventh to Meryl in the Group 3 $200,000 B.J. McLachlan Stakes (1200m) at Doomben on December 30 but McEvoy has made several gear changes to the All American colt’s race day attire with the addition of a set of blinkers, a bubble cheeker and a tongue tie and is looking for an improved performance, especially with the prospect of a hot pace up front.
“I elected to put a bubble cheeker on his this weekend to help him and I have gone for a set of blinkers, I have put tongue on him,” McEvoy said.
“The thing I would watch with him is in the pre parade, he just melted a bit last week in the heat, but he is bright and is well and I can’t fault him.”
“He is a very good colt but he will be off the pace and if they happen to go far too fast, will be watching for him late.”
Crockett has drawn barrier ten in the original draw but could move in one spot if all the emergencies fail to gain a start when the sixteen horse field is finalized on Saturday morning.
South Australia’s leading jockey Jamie Kah has been aboard Crockett for all his three race starts, including his debut win in a 1000m two year old Stakes at Morphettville Parks in October, and she gets the mount again in the Magic Millions 2yo Classic.
Phelan Ready Stakes winner Ef Troop has drawn off the track at eighteen in the original draw, but will probably come into thirteen and remains one of the top fancies for the Magic Millions 2yo Classic at $4.60 while B.J. McLachlan Stakes victor Meryl is marked at $15 and will get the run of the race from barrier five.
Hugh Bowman’s mount Jonker has been elevated to the top of the market order at $4.20 after drawing barrier three and heads to the Gold Coast undefeated from two starts with a win in the $50,000 Max Lees Classic (900m) at Newcastle on December 3 followed by a win in the $200,000 Wyong Magic Millions 2yo Classic (1100m) at Wyong on December 21.
