One of the biggest race days on the Australian horse racing calendar, Magic Millions Day on the Gold Coast has been postponed due to the state of the track after the Gold Coast Turf Club received over 12mm of rain on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the Gold Coast Turf Club reported that the rail had to be moved around the 400m to 300m mark after they discovered a wet patch, which ultimately brought the downfall of the Magic Millions meeting.
After rain fell for a solid two hours before the meeting started, the jockeys, stewards and track curators chose to delay the start of race two after there were concerns raised about visibility and the track condition after race one.
Leading Australian jockeys and elder statesmen of the jockey’s room, Larry Cassidy and Craig Williams were the two hoops in attendance on track as they inspected the last 600m of the track and especially that 400m to 300m spot where the wet patch of the track had been identified earlier on.
After the inspection jockeys were undecided as to whether they thought the track was safe enough for all participants, therefore, the jockeys and the stewards agreed to race the second race of the day, The Debut Plate, and agreed to have another meeting about the track after every race.
However in The Debut Plate, James McDonald reported that his mount – Desperately – slipped as she rounded the home turn and from then on it was a foregone conclusion that this meeting had to be postponed to another date.
“Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) Stewards have postponed the Magic Millions race meeting at Aquis Park to prioritise the safety of animals and riders in poor conditions,” a QRIC media release read.
“In accordance with industry policy, jockeys were asked to undertake a secret ballot, which resulted in a majority decision to withdraw their services due to poor visibility and wet weather. QRIC Stewards have taken this under advisement and moved to postpone the event.
“Racing Queensland and the Gold Coast Turf Club will determine the new date of the meeting.”
In race one, the Magic Millions Country Cup over 1200m, Cody Morgan and Jamie Kah combined for their first Magic Millions win of their careers with Ezekiel running away from his rivals to record an easy 3.5 length victory.
The Magic Millions The Debut 2YO Plate over 900m was taken out by Koby Jennings and Nathan Doyle as they combined with Rush Hour to take out the last race of the day before the meeting was postponed.
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