Darren Weir soaks up the glow from a magic day on the Gold Coast
DARREN Weir added to his glowing reputation as one of Australia’s great trainers last week with a memorable day at the Gold Coast Magic Millions.
The master trainer scored a memorable double with Mahuta winning the Magic Millions 3YO Guineas and Lucky Hussler taking out the Magic Million Cup, taking home $1.8 million in prize money.
Weir had never trained a winner at the Gold Coast and made sure he targeted the big money with the right horses.
“You have to pinch yourself a bit,” Weir said.
“It’s all about luck and you have to bring the right horses. I had a couple of others I could have brought up, but these were the two that looked best suited and we’ve come away with a couple of wins.
Both horses were kept fresh after busy Melbourne Spring campaigns with Mahuta winning its last three races, including the Group 2 Sandown Guineas. Lucky Hussler was a Group 1 Toorak Handicap winner in the spring and the $4.80 being offer at CrownBet.com.au was very generous.
“It’s easy to say they were the best horses after the event,” Weir said.
“I guess they both had great form for the races they were in. I keep thanking my team, but it is so true. I’m lucky to have the people around me that I do and we’re lucky to have the two stables.”
Weir expects more Victorian trainers to visit the Gold Coast after his success on Saturday.
“The prizemoney is too good to ignore,” he said.
“I would think everyone will be having a crack at it from now on.”
Mahuta was originally going to be spelled before heading to the Australian Guineas where it’s a $9 winning chance at Sportsbet.com.au.
“Mahuta was going to the paddock until my racing manager pointed out he was eligible for this race and we had the luxury of switching him to Warrnambool to give him something different,” Weir said.
“He had a few things to overcome. He was going the opposite way the first time and had a bad barrier but after 400 metres, all that was taken out of play because he was in a beautiful rhythm.”
After their scheduled flight was delayed, both Mahuta and Lucky Hussler arrived 24 hours later than Weir and his team had planned, but it made no difference come race day.
“We were getting a bit nervous about the delays in getting them here, because it was getting a bit closer to the event. But it didn’t really change anything at all,” Weir said.
Weir could now test the waters in Sydney with Lucky Hussler being nominated for the Group 1 Doncaster Mile on April 2. The Magic Millions winner is a $26 chance with bookmakers with Cox Plate-winning Winx holding sway at $8.