It was a case of third time lucky for Velrosso whose previous attempts to get to Magic Millions day had been thwarted by injury and bad timing.
Ridden by Damien Oliver and starting the $4 favourite, Velrosso won Saturday’s Magic Millions Cup (1400m) at the Gold Coast by a half head from Phelan Ready ($31), denying the runner-up his first win since the 2009 Golden Slipper.
Velrosso - Photo by Steve Hart
Club Command, who was heavily backed from $7.50 into $4.60, ran third a short neck away.
Trainer Chris Waller had always wanted to target the Millions carnival with Velrosso but had to wait until Saturday to realise that ambition.
“We couldn’t run him as a two-year-old because he broke his back leg,” Waller said.
“He recovered from that injury but the timing wasn’t right to aim him at the Guineas as a three-year-old but we had him right today to run in this race with a happy result.”
Waller admitted he thought victory was going to elude him when Phelan Ready was rapidly getting to Velrosso at the finish.
“Damien gave him a gun ride to bring him into the race at the right time but when Phelan Ready lunged I thought he might’ve beaten us,” he said.
Waller said Velrosso was likely to remain in training and be aimed at the early stages of the autumn carnival in Sydney.
“We might use the fitness he has now and target some of the Group Three races in the early autumn which are well within his grasp,” he said.
Velrosso’s win also proved a sharp turnaround in fortunes for Waller on Saturday.
“One runner for one winner up here but it hasn’t been as good for us in Sydney,” he said.
“I think we’ve had about 10 runners without a win but fortunately our luck’s been in up here.”
Until Saturday, Velrosso had been unsuccessful in two previous attempts at 1400 metres.
“He always looked as though he’d handle the 1400 metres and the race was run to suit him today,” Waller said.
Velrosso gave Waller back-to-back wins in the Cup following Triple Elegance’s victory last year.
