STORM BOY BLOWS THEM AWAY IN THE $3 MILLION MAGIC MILLIONS TWO-YEAR-OLD CLASSIC

By Graham Potter | Saturday, January 13, 2024

The Gai Waterhouse / Adrian Bott trained Storm Boy came, saw, and conquered in the Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic at the Gold Coast on Saturday ... a race in which Storm Boy’s unbeaten record was never under any serious threat.

A comfortable winner 2.28 length winner at Rosehill on debut back on December 2, Storm Boy was as strong in his follow-up win in the Group 3, B J McLachlan at Doomben on December 23 ... again by that a very comfortable 2.40 length margin ... and it was really a simple repeat dose of what had gone before when Storm Boy trounced his opposition in the Two-Year-Old Classic, beating the second placed Highness by his now standard 2.50 lengths.

Storm Boy wasn’t the best away at the break, but Adam Hyeronimus wasn’t about to hang around and he quickly pushed the son of Justify up towards the leading line, racing in fourth, three wide, in the early part, only a length off the $201 rank outsider Mishani Ego.

With 800m left to run Storm Boy was up to second place and by the top of the straight the Waterhouse / Bott runner was alongside the early leader. A stride later he took over the lead ... and that, basically, was that.

Storm Boy’s effort down the home straight was as clinical as the way he had set up his charge for victory under Hyeronimus’ super-confident guidance.

Tommy Berry, on Highness, might have thought he still had a sniff halfway up the straight, but that would turn out to be an illusion. Storm Boy never blinked for a second, staying strong and ultimately holding Highness with some aplomb ... with the 4.80 length margin back to the third placed Spywire rubber-stamping the absolute authority with which Storm Boy claimed the win.

This was Waterhouse’s fifth success in this two-year-old feature and her first with co-trainer Adrain Bott. Waterhouse previously won the race with Assertive, Excellerator, Dance Hero and Driefontein.

WINNER FEEDBACK:

Co-trainer Adrian Bott: “He really put it together today. His first run up in Queensland (in the B J McLachlan) he was a little bit on his toes, but today he just took it all in. I was sort of half worried about how quiet he was parading around, but I think that is what happens with a trip away. They mature a lot ... and that’s what he going to need to do going into the Autumn in Sydney. He has got a big campaign ahead of him ... got some big races to try and win. He is a top (Golden) Slipper prospect for us and a good staying prospect. He has got the right profile.”

Jockey Adam Hyeronimus: “Like I said to the owners today ... I also said it to them last start ... the jump was very important. If we get the first 600m right ... we win ... no question about it. He is a very good colt, but he is still learning. He jumps with them, but he is just not electric out and that was my only concern in this pressure race today, but we were able to hold a forward position and just had to wait until one crossed us, and once we got across outside the leader it was game over. It was effortless. It’s all about the owners, Gai and Adrian and the horse ... he is a beautiful horse, and he is up there with the better colts that Gai and Adrian have had in their stable and the ones that do succeed are the one with a brilliant attitude ... and he’s got that.”

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