TOUGH LUCK EARNS MAGIC MILLIONS START

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Toowoomba, November 27, 2009.
Cushion Track.
Magic Millions 2yo Plate - 1100m. Time: 1-09.23.
1 Tough Luck; 2 Tycoon Cat; 3 Mystic Dragon.

Any win achieved by a 3.75 lengths margin is as clear-cut as they come and all a horse can do is beat the runners that oppose him or her on the day. On that basis you can take nothing away from the Robert Bradshaw trained Tough Luck, who won the Magic Millions Plate for two-year-olds at Toowoomba last Friday.

The filly has now won two of her three starts with both wins coming on the Cushion Track surface.

Just how well that form translates into a career on the grass track will be found out in the near future, but, for the moment, Bradshaw has the luxury of being able to plan his assault on a feature race at the lucrative Magic Millions race-day in January as the money earned as first prize in the $100000 event ensures Tough Luck a run on the big day.

Will she be good enough to make her mark in the superior company she will meet there? Who knows? Those who frown at the quality of runner Tough Luck beat home at Toowoomba will also know just how much a two-year-old can improve in a month. So to have the ticket this early is to have a chance!

The fact is Bradshaw took the opportunity to qualify Tough Luck while others declined the chance to do so. Only eight runners contested this $100000 Magic Millions showcase at Toowoomba with not a Brisbane or a Gold Coast trainer trainer in sight. Their motives for not coming were probably sound, but their absence did diminish the standing of the contest.

That wasn’t Bradshaw’s problem. The plan came together for a trainer who has been having a strong run in recent months. It was almost a ‘no contest’ on the track as Tough Luck scored a convincing end to end victory.

WINNER FEEDBACK:
Trainer Robert Bradshaw: “I don’t know how far she’ll go. She is just a natural little racehorse. She puts herself there. She’s fit. She is a trier. Stathi (Katsidis) says he wants to ride her on the grass and see how good she goes.” (Tough Love’s previous win was also on the Cushion Track - on that occasion the win came at the Sunshine Coast).

Jockey Stathi Katsidis: “Yeah, it had the blinkers on today. It didn’t have the blinkers on the other day. Jumped and found the lead easy and I was able to go reasonably slow in front.

“I was a little bit worried at the 400m. I was off the bit and the other one (Tycoon Cat) was looming. The pressure he was putting on ... he was going to be hard to beat, but he couldn’t sustain that run and she’s just toughed it out. She was just too tough for them today. She just simply won it by grinding them into the ground.

“It will be interesting to see where they go with her. I think she might deserve a little break now. I think it might go pretty good on grass. I think it has got good ability, but they’ll just have to place it right. You’ve got to take your chances, you know. It’s come here and won a $100000 race!”

And what of Katsidis’s opinion of the track?

Katsidis: “Yeah, it’s a fair track to ride on, but not a good track to land on.” (Katsidis was referring to the fall he had earlier in the day when parting company with Boogiemac soon after the start in the third race). “On the grass at least you slide a bit. On this you just come to a complete thump.”

HRO followed up with trainer Robert Bradshaw a few days after the event to see how Tough Luck had pulled up.

Bradshaw: “She pulled up good. She pulled up so well I’m actually going to MacKay with her next Tuesday. There is another of those Magic Million races.

“All being well she is definitely going to Magic Millions in January. No question about that!”

STEWARDS REPORT EXTRACT:
Shortly after entering the straight, Noela's Romp (S. Bogenhuber), which was racing greenly, attempted to take a narrow run between Leica Pulse (P. Wolfgram), which was inclined to lay in under pressure, and Suiligh (R. Goltz), which shifted out. As a result, Noela's Romp became awkward at the heels of Suiligh for some distance before shifting wider on the track to improve.