The scramble for a place in the Magic Millions Classic will heat up with two-year-old races across the country on Boxing Day, but one trainer is more than happy to stay closer to home and avoid a clash with the brilliant Coolangatta.
Newcastle’s Jason Deamer opted against running his race hardened Hard To Say in the BJ McLachlan Stakes at Doomben on Sunday, where Gimcrack Stakes winner Coolangatta will start a long odds-on favourite.
Hard To Say (red cap) runs fourth behind Sejardan in the Breeders Plate in October.Credit:Getty
Instead, he will keep the Dynamic Syndications colt at Royal Randwick, where he will start among the favourites for the two-year-old event which will go a long way to clearing up the Magic Millions picture.
Hard To Say and Gary Portelli’s Snitcat will boast the most experience going into the race with three starts each. Both ran in the early season two-year-old races on Epsom Day, where Hard To Say was a close-up fourth behind subsequent Golden Gift winner Sejardan. After subsequently struggling on a heavy track behind Lady Laguna when wide after freshen-up, Hard To Say hit the line strongly chasing Palazzo Spirit in the Phelan Ready at Eagle Farm last time out.
‘It’s been the plan all along to get to the Magic Millions, like everyone else, but it’s just a matter of whether you can get there.’
Jason Deamer
It was enough to convince Deamer that the colt would relish the step up to 1100m in a race where he was a $4.60 favourite with Sportsbet on Thursday, topping Magic Millions Wyong contender Command Approved ($6) and well-backed first-starter Mills ($6.50).
Deamer will fit Hard To Say with winkers for the two-year-old test, needing to finish in the first two to give him a legitimate chance of qualifying for the rich Gold Coast scamper next month.
“Dynamic has given me huge support the last two years and this is the first yearling they’ve purchased for me,” Deamer said. “It’s been the plan all along to get to the Magic Millions, like everyone else, but it’s just a matter of whether you can get there with the right horse.
Deamer dreaming of Millions spot but Hard To Say whether colt can measure up
Source: Philippines Alive
