The five-year-old was slow to begin and settled near the rear but powered late to nab Steven O’Dea’s Reckless Choice and the Toby Edmonds-trained Stanley Park in a driving finish to the $250,000 feature.
It was an inspired steer from local jockey Griffin who said he was delighted to win with his only ride for the day.
“Full credit to Ben Currie and his owners for giving me this opportunity, this is my home track and it was good to get one good ride that I could deliver on,” Griffin said.
“We came out of (barrier) 13 and he reared at the start and missed the kick so I had to go back and ride him for luck.
“We got the breaks and got the split at the end and the rest is history.”
Originally purchased by McEvoy Mitchell Racing for $160,000 at the 2015 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, the son of Stryker joined Currie’s stable in 2017.
A dual winner at Toowoomba in 2018, Mr Markou rounded out his Magic Millions preparations with an inglorious fifth in a 1200m handicap at Warwick.
Currie admitted he was apprehensive about the gelding’s form and his prospects from the wide barrier but credited Griffin’s ride with the narrow win.
“It’s a big thrill to win a race like this and to do it with some good owners that have been really loyal to me over the last few years is a huge,” Currie said.
“It was a brilliant ride.
“We were a bit worried about the gate and he just began a bit slow today which limited his options.
“He had to ride him for luck but he just kept getting the breaks, he got him to the outside and he finished really strong.”
