THE world’s best sire of juveniles, More Than Ready, is ideally placed to claim his fourth Magic Millions race when the Tasmania trained youngster More Awesome contests the South Australia version on Monday.
More Than Ready progeny have enjoyed incredible success in all manner of two-year-old features around the globe including two Golden Slipper Stakes, two Breeders’ Cup Juveniles, two Gold Coast Magic Millions and one Adelaide Magic Millions via Augusta Proud in 2008.
More Than Ready was crowned the USA Champion Sire of 2YO’s last season, a feat which he has twice achieved here in Australia.
Adelaide visitor More Awesome arrives with suitably impressive formlines finishing third behind subsequent stakeswinners Chinchilla and Golden Archer.
”More Awesome was only beaten 0.8-lens by Golden Archer and we did have excuses, so it was the icing to the cake for making my mind up to come over for the Magic Millions race,” trainer Dean Wells said.
”I don’t know a great deal about the opposition on Monday, they are all a bit a new time to me, but I spoke briefly to Craig Newitt about the form and this race and he said if my horse can reproduce what he did in Tasmania last start, then he’s got to be very hard to beat.
”More Awesome has done really well since he got to Adelaide and had a jump-out on Tuesday morning and went well – I am really, really happy with him.”
Wells is leaving nothing to chance in his Magic Millions quest opting for leading jockey Clare Lindop who won the race on Augusta Proud.
”No matter what state you are in I just think you go for the best jockey available and Clare has been one of Adelaide’s leading jockeys for quite a few years now and she knows the track as good as anyone and that is a big positive,” says Wells.
So too is More Awesome’s barrier four in the eight horse field which should allow the chestnut to gain a favourable run.
”The draw does give us a few options and he is quite an adaptable horse so if they want to take him on, he’d be quite content just top sit off them and have the last crack or he leads so be it.
”But I’ll leave that up to Clare.”
FOOTNOTE: Augusta Proud and Clare Lindop will be together again at Morphettville this Monday as they seek to claim successive SAJC R.N. Irwin Stakes (1100m).
