In form rider Ben Thompson will be doing a rain dance in the week leading up to the Magic Millions after happily committing to riding the Bryan and Daniel Guy trained Golden Artie in the $2 million Magic Millions Two-Year-old Classic on January 15.
You couldn’t take the smile off either the co-trainers or the jockeys faces after the son of Artie Schiller had lowered the colours of the much-vaunted Soaring Ambition in a Two-Year-Old Handicap at Doomben on Saturday.
Thompson was chuffed with that effort, which helped cement the favourable early opinion he had of the horse.
‘He had quite a bit of presence about him when I first trialled him at the Gold Coast,” said Thompson.
“He trialled that day with quite a bit of scope. He looked the part, but he just hadn’t furnished yet into a racehorse at that time. He is only going to improve.
“He went super on debut. He finished second to Palazzo Spirit … who went on to win the Listed Phelan Ready.
“He then trialled super leading into this prep. He was very unlucky at the Sunny Coast on a Friday night (when he finished fourth, just 1.50 lengths behind Mishani Warfare).
“I travelled in what I thought was a nice spot in the run but then, at the business end, there were horses stopping in front of me and I just couldn’t get to the outside in time to build enough momentum. By the time I got out the race was all but over.
“It was nice to, let’s say, redeem ourselves yesterday. I think, in two week’s time, he is going to tick a lot of boxes being that he is now proven at running out a strong 1200m.
“Also, he relished the wet track, so I think I’ll be rain dancing from now until then hoping its wet.
“The race is also taking place in his back yard. Obviously, he is trained at the Gold Coast track. He has had two trials and has galloped often on the course proper there so, I think, being a juvenile, every bit of help he gets like that is an advantage.”
Golden Artie currently sits at $21 for the big race in a betting market dominated by the unbeaten Coolangatta who is quoted at $1.80 with Russian Conquest being the other runner quoted in single figures.
