3 minute read
We saw a dominant display from 2yo Storm Boy amidst Magic Millions mayhem.
While the Gold Coast Magic Millions meeting didn't go entirely to plan with significant delays prior to the 3yo Guineas, the headline event certainly didn't disappoint.
Storm Boy ended up, for the majority, holding his price around the $2.50 mark and more than justified that quote, destroying his rivals in the 2yo Classic.
He was a touch slow away and had to use a bit of energy to eventually cross over and settle outside the 200-1 pop Mishani Ego, running some fairly slick sectionals including splits of 10.28 and 10.73 between the 1000-600m mark.
Despite this, and with well-fancied second elect Highness coming off his back after a beautiful run in transit, Storm Boy was still able to reel off the fastest last 200m of the race (11.36) and power away to win by 2.5 lengths.
Also of note is the overall time. While not the be all and end all, his time of 1.08.00 was around a length faster than Open Snippets winner, and now three-time Millions victor King Of Sparta in 1.08.26. To counter that, the Country Cup, won by 84 rated Zoumeteor, was only a touch slower in 1.08.33, although that was race one which can often produce a faster time on the untouched surface.
Nevertheless, it's not often the 2yo winner runs a faster time than the open sprint and it lends itself to a very strong rating.
The Racing & Sports handicappers have assigned a rating of 116 to Storm Boy's win which is up from his two other starts which both rated 107, which is exactly the same rating Highness ran to in second. As noted by Adam Blencowe post-race, Storm Boy's 116 would've won any 2yo race bar the Golden Slipper last season (which was a below average year).
116 is a very good number for the Magic Millions 2yo Classic. It's the best rating since star two-year-old Capitalist, who went on to beat Yankee Rose and Flying Artie in the Golden Slipper, also ran to 116 when also winning by 2.5 lengths in 2015.
In that time, which is eight years, the winning average for the Magic Millions 2yo Classic is 111. Other top winners in that time have been fillies Sunlight and Houtzen, both running to 113+ and forging top careers.
Capitalist, like Storm Boy, won the Millions at just his third race start, as did Houtzen, while Sunlight won it at her fourth.
Unfortunately we only saw Capitalist, a son of Written Tycoon, four more times after his Millions win, but unlike Capitalist, who never raced beyond 1200m, Storm Boy oozes substance.
His effort to run the fastest last 200m of the race after carving out good splits early, and being by American Triple Crown winner Justify, Storm Boy already looks like he wants 1400 and further, and you'd be brave to say he can't win the Slipper, Sires and Champagne and become the first horse since Pierro in 2012 to win the 2yo Triple Crown.
Perhaps the best ever Magic Millions winner, also trained by Gai Waterhouse, was Dance Hero, who was rated a whopping 123 off his win over Not A Single Doubt, who then went on to win the Triple Crown with ratings of 124, 124, 125.
An incredibly small percentage of horses get to that sort of level, and it may be (and in fact is) premature to declare Storm Boy a star, but everything he's done, and the way he's done it, suggests he could step up and be one of the stars of the future.
