THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: THE TWO-YEAR-OLD BIG RACE QUALIFICATION DILEMMA

By Graham Potter | Friday, January 4, 2019

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

Tony McEvoy, who won last year’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic with Sunlight, has not enjoyed the best of times in the build-up to this year’s event.

His smart BJ McLachlan Stakes winner Sun City had to be pulled out of the Classic with a leg infection and McEvoy has been under pressure trying to get two of his other two-year-olds to rally late to put the score on the board to meet the qualification criteria and gain a place in the $2 million feature.

One, Just Zerene, was a hot tip to win on debut at Doomben on December 29 and catapult herself in Magic Millions (MM) contention but she failed to deliver. The second horse Hills, a debut winner, gets her final qualification opportunity at the Gold Coast on Saturday. Again, only a win will be good enough.

That means both Just Zerene and Hills were only trying to secure qualification with less than two weeks to go to race-time. That late charge has its advantages with others having followed a similar route to big race glory before but, as McEvoy knows only too well, it is a hazardous trip where one wrong step, one small setback, one change of race scheduling can bring the dream to an end even before it comes within reach.

So why would anyone, let alone one of the country’s most seasoned trainers, even try the ‘lucky dip’ late qualification option.

There fact is that the progression of two-year-olds … both mentally and physically … takes as many paths as there are juveniles.

Each individual will develop at its own pace. Some will be naturally precocious. Some will initially develop slowly and then suddenly changed gears as they get to grips with what is expected of them while others will just continue to meander along in their own time.

Horses in every one of these categories can have superior ability and become champions but not every one of them will be suited by the timeframe of the lucrative Magic Millions 2YO Classic and The Golden Slipper.

But that is also why you can suddenly find yourself with a MM horse at your disposal with the clock ticking on that option. The horse wasn’t furnished enough two months out, but he is now. Hence the dilemma.

On this point, you can understand McEvoy’s frustration. Just how you give these late developers a greater chance of qualification (ie more 2YO races closer to Magic Millions day) is now under formal discussion.

Whether changes will be made or not remains to be seen.

For now, though, the chance of defending his MM 2YO Classic crown for McEvoy comes down to a nail-biting, last gasp effort at qualification by Hills on Saturday but nine equally committed opponents will be out there trying to deny McEvoy that opportunity.

It will be cut and thrust two-year-old racing at its most competitive!

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