| Girl power was to the fore at the close of Saturday’s Magic Millions card at the Gold Coast as star trainer Annabel Neasham and Group 1 jockey Rachel King combined to win the $1 million Racing Queensland Magic Millions QTIS (1300m) with Wisdom of Water. |
| The quirky, albeit talented Headwater entire overcame a wide draw courtesy of a brilliant steer from King, who found a gap passing the 200m post. The four-year-old sprinted away for a dominant win over on-pacer Boomnova, with Chapter and Verse finishing powerfully into third. The success gave Wisdom of Water back-to-back wins for the second time in his career following his victory in last month’s Magic Millions 3YO & 4YO Classic at Wyong. After a busy week of buying at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Neasham said she was delighted to hit the board on the racetrack. “It’s so satisfying,” Neasham said. “It’s just a dream to win a race on this amazing race card. “It was an amazing ride by Rachel, she just seems to get a real tune out of him and she put him in a lovely spot from an awkward draw. “She was patient and he won pretty soft on the line. “We’ve just tried to keep him happy and a big credit James Harding who has got a place at Newcastle on the beach. “He spent two weeks at the beach before he came here and James said for the first four or five days he was eyes on stalks and then he really settled into it and loved it. “I’ve noticed a real change in his demeanor, he seems a really happy horse. “It’s a great result for the Fung family, they are great supporters of the game and particularly this racecourse.” King became the sixth female jockey to win a feature Magic Millions race at the Gold Coast, following in the footsteps of Michelle Payne, Clare Lindop and Stephanie Thornton. Originally a $70,000 purchase by Blandford Bloodstock out of the Eureka Stud draft at the 2019 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Wisdom of Water was later acquired by Aquis after showing talent as a two-year-old. Saturday’s victory was the fifth of his 20-start career and took his earnings beyond $1 million. Neasham has been involved in a series of high-priced yearling purchases in recent days, including $1.1 million for a Snitzel colt (Lot 567) from Segenhoe Stud, $650,000 for a Not A Single Doubt colt (Lot 198) from Arrowfield Stud and $600,000 for a Russian Revolution filly (Lot 325) from Kingstar Farm. |
