| Ex Sport Man emerged as the newest star of Western Australian racing with a stunning win in today’s $250,000 Magic Millions WA 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) at Pinjarra today. |
A son of Group One sire Playing God, Ex Sport Man overcame a slow start and unleashed a huge burst in the straight to reel in the leaders and win by a widening short neck margin. Ex Sport Man, who had run two eye catching seconds from as many starts leading into the Classic, is held in high regard by connections. “It’s wonderful,” Wolfe said. “He’s the real deal and we’ve known that the whole way along.” “I was just a bit worried that the race might be a bit short. I’m a bit choked up really.” “It was a beautiful ride and it’s great to train horses for great people – we can all smile when we have success.” “We can wait for the Karrakatta (Plate) or the Sires’ (Produce Stakes) we probably won’t have to run before then – he can just tick along down south now,” Wolfe added. Ex Sport Man is the first named foal for his dam, the city winning Oratorio mare Buhn Lert, and was a $40,000 Perth Yearling Sale buy for Commercial Bloodstock Services from Mungrup Stud. Winning rider Shaun McGruddy, who now heads the list of the most successful riders in the feature juvenile with four wins, was delighted with the performance. “I was quite confident,” McGruddy revealed. “Usually I’m a bit of a pessimist but I thought he could win – but then we bombed the start.” “I was probably two spots further back (than planned), but luckily the pace was on and I just had to get him to the outside.” Pixie Chix, in finishing fifth, was the first runner home in the Magic Millions WA Racing Women’s Bonus initiative and collected her all female ownership group a cool $60,000 prize. The connections of Orchilla ($10,000) and Success Play ($5,000) rounded out the bonus wins. Meanwhile, Gemma’s Son made his own history when he scored a runaway win in the $200,000 Magic Millions WA 3YO Trophy (RL, 1200m) later in the day. In winning the race by over three lengths Gemma’s Son became the first horse to win the WA 3YO Trophy a year after winning the Magic Millions WA 2YO Classic. Trainer David Harrison, who announced he would donate his $11,200 trainers cheque from the win to the Perth Lord Mayor’s Fund for WA bushfire relief, was delighted with the win. “You can never be too over confident,” Harrison said of the hot favourite. “But he looked well in at the weights.” “I was happy with how he travelled during the race.” Gemma’s Son was a $20,000 Perth Yearling Sale buy for Harrison’s Bridge Patrol Lodge from Scenic Lodge in 2019. “It’s a dream come true for everyone concerned,” Harrison said of the gelding who’s now earned over $700,000. “Some of the owners have been with me for 30 to 40 years. They will be having the time of their lives.” The scene is now set for the 2021 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale which will be now be conducted on Thursday February 18 and Friday February 19. Ex Sport Man’s sire Playing God has 14 yearlings catalogued for the sale, while Snippetson, the sire of Gemma’s Son, has 17 youngsters to go under the hammer. To view the online catalogue for the sale and for more information click here. |
