Five exciting youngsters will be racing for a $50,000 bonus in Singapore on Sunday when the Group Three Magic Millions Juvenile Championship (1200m) is run at Kranji.
Magic Millions will give the owner of the winner the bonus if that horse is a graduate of one of their sales.
The eligible runners for the bonus are Gingerbread Man, Biggest Secret, Strata Star, Top Venture and Aradea.
Gingerbread Man is set to start one of the favoured runners in the feature stakes event after four excellent runs in his career to date.
Prepared by Bruce Marsh, Gingerbread Man has two wins and two seconds to date and locals are tipping him as the horse to beat in the Championship.
A son of Shamardal, Gingerbread Man was knocked down to Magic Millions Bloodstock Consultant James Dawson for $30,000 at last year’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Dawson purchased the youngster for Joe Singh while on the phone to the Singapore based owner.
Singh will be hoping the lucky run continues – having purchased another four lots at the recent National Yearling Sale through Dawson.
Michael Freedman saddled up Always Certain to finish second in the Juvenile Championship last year and is hoping to go one better with the unbeaten Biggest Secret.
By Secret Savings, Biggest Secret was purchased from last year’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $130,000. He’s raced twice – for two eye catching wins.
“He’s a horse who has never stopped improving physically since his debut win,” Freedman said. “I would say his second win was a much better effort than his first.”
“Since then, he’s been showing he was well within himself and seems in good order going into Sunday’s race.”
“He has a nice temperament for a two-year-old and he looks to have a nice future here.”
Stratum has taken all before him in Australia this season with the likes of Crystal Lily and on Sunday he will be represented in Singapore’s biggest juvenile race by Strata Star.
A $70,000 purchase by trainer Michael Clements at last year’s National Horses in Training Sale, Strata Star has raced just once.
At that outing, on July 2, he put up a big performance to win on debut from an outside barrier in a 1200 metre juvenile event.
Prior to his impressive debut win Strata Star looked an exciting prospect with a pair of barrier trial victories.
Strata Star was a member of the Symphony Lodge draft at the Horses in Training Sale last October – being sold on behalf of well known Queensland based horseman Edward O’Dwyer.
First season trainer Theo Kieser will saddle up his first black type runner in the Championship with promising youngster Top Venture.
A Baramul Stud graduate, Top Venture ran second on debut before racing away at his most recent outing for an eye catching win.
The Flying Spur youngster was purchased by his trainer for $80,000 at October’s National Horses in Training Sale.
Kieser, a former South African, has spent a lifetime around racing and is best known in recent years as the long time foreman for Laurie Laxon.
“He’s very lazy and laid back but puts it together on raceday”, Kieser said. “Around the stable you can do anything with him.”
“You can walk into his stable, pull his ears, move around him without any problem.”
“He switches on come raceday and has a really good temperament for racing.”
Rounding out the runners chasing the $50,000 bonus is the John O’Hara trained Aradea.
A gelded son of Johannesburg, Aradea was purchased from the draft of Holbrook Thoroughbreds for $65,000 at last year’s Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
He is a well bred youngster – his dam being the stakes winning Beautiful Crown mare Bella Corona.
Aradea has raced on just one occasion and he finished third behind Api Api on July 9.
The Magic Millions Juvenile Championship is the eighth race at Kranji on Sunday and will jump at 7.40pm (AEST).
