Peter Robl has a chance to win a Magic Millions feature race in his first month as a trainer when he takes over Saturday’s Doomben winner Centre Point.
Robl was at Doomben as a stable foreman when Centre Point ($7.50) won the $175,000 Listed Bernborough Handicap by a length to Lordag ($11) with 1-1/4 lengths to Worthy Cause ($5) in third.
Centre Pivot
Centre Point was trained on Saturday by John Sargent but Robl will take over the gelding and 17 other runners owned by Segenhoe Stud when he receives his trainer’s licence next week.
He will be based at Randwick and expects to play a strong hand in the Magic Millions carnival at the Gold Coast next month.
Robl was injured in a fall at Scone in January last year and has been working as a stable foreman.
“Centre Point doesn’t like wet tracks and Blake Shinn rode him in a track gallop two weeks ago and said he would ride him in the Bernborough,” Robl said.
“It was a pretty good guide because he gave up rides at Rosehill today.”
Centre Point will now tackle the Magic Millions Trophy (1800m) on January 9.
“If we get a dry track and some luck he will be in the finish,” Robl said.
Shinn said Centre Point had hit the line like a good horses and had lived up to his recent trackwork.
Lordag ran home well for second but his stablemate and favourite Hopfgarten ($4.60) was caught three deep for most of the race and faded in the straight.
Trainer Bryan Guy got his first Saturday metropolitan winner from his new training operation at Aquis Farm when Eagle Way ($9) won the Sky Racing Handicap.
Guy, a Brisbane premiership-winning trainer when based on the Gold Coast, moved his operation to Aquis in October.
“We haven’t had a lot of runners but we have won about six races at the provincials and the midweeks since we moved,” Guy said.
Eagle Way, who is raced by Hong Kong-based trainer John Moore, cost $250,000 as a yearling and Guy believes he can recoup that money in coming months.
