Group 1 winner Music Magnate has not been seen at the races since May, but he is set to jump favourite in Saturday’s Listed Christmas Classic (1200m) at Royal Randwick.
Music Magnate delivered Bjorn Baker his first win at the highest level of racing as a solo trainer in the 2016 edition of the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m) and remains a $3.20 favourite to win Saturday’s Sydney metropolitan feature race.
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The Written Tycoon gelding has made a name for himself as a fresh performer; failing to finish worse than second in four previous first-up runs.
Having justified odds-on favouritism in the Group 2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) in late January, Music Magnate failed to fire in two subsequent Autumn Carnival runs, but returned from a freshen-up to win the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m) at Eagle Farm most notably on April 19th.
The six-year-old has trialled extremely well leading into this race, but he will need appropriate luck in running after being charged with carrying a race-high 61kgs and drawing a wide barrier.
Tough sprinter Boss Lane will also contest the Christmas Classic first-up and arguably represents the best value for money in betting, at monster odds.
The son of Dubawi produced a number of gutsy performances throughout a winter campaign earlier this year; finding the winner’s circle amongst quality company twice most notably.
Trainer Ron Quinton appears to have the horse reasonably wound-up already, following a smart Randwick trial over 742m on December 11th. Drawn ideally, he is worth consideration at odds of $26/$6, having already firmed from a $61 quote.
Dothraki is the horse that punters have so-far rallied around in our Christmas Classic betting market, however.
The Mossman gelding opened at odds of $16 on Wednesday, but has attracted a huge amount of support and has firmed into a quote of $10 at the time of publish.
Dothraki stamped himself as a horse to follow during a smart three-year-old season in 2014, but has continued to produce high-quality performances and results throughout his subsequent preparations.
The horse began his 2017 campaign a credible fourth in the Magic Millions Sprint (1200m) in early January and continued to go close without managing to return to winning form in autumn or winter; finishing in the minors in each of the Group 3 Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m), Listed Ortensia Stakes (1100m) and Group 2 Moreton Cup (1200m) most notably.
Dothraki is sure to have taken plenty of natural improvement from his first-up run in the Startlight Stakes (1100m) on December 2nd and will appreciate a step up in distance, as well as a drop in weight.