3 minute read

Gai Waterhouse and her training partner Adrian Bott are confident they have covered all the bases with brilliant trial winner Terminology ahead of her awaited debut in Thursday’s $200,000 Wyong Magic Millions.

Terminology faces several highly rated youngsters with race experience but such is the impact the filly made in her two trial wins at Warwick Farm and Rosehill that she is a pronounced favourite for the race that catapults the winner into next month’s $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic at the Gold Coast.

Waterhouse has won the Wyong Magic Millions three times but is currently enjoying her annual overseas holiday and has left it to Bott to put the finishing touches to Terminology’s preparation.

There was nothing special about Terminology’s first trial win at Warwick Farm but it was her second trial over 900m at Rosehill on December 8 that stamped the Star Witness filly as something out of the box.

With blinkers applied to her gear Terminology led easily before exploding away from her rivals to win the heat in a canter by more than 10 lengths.

Her time of 54 seconds time was par for the day but the merit was in her closing sectionals. She ran the last 600m in 34.1 seconds and on face value could have gone a lot quicker.

Her last 600m was some eight tenths quicker than the sectional time recorded by her Wyong Magic Millions rival Skyray winning another 900m heat on the day.

Terminology will wear blinkers on Thursday, a move Bott believes will see the filly reproduce her Rosehill trial form.

“We want her ready to go, that’s key to her qualifying to get up to the big race on the Gold Coast,” Bott reported.

“Now that she’s fit we are really starting to see what she is made of. She’s very professional and has a great attitude to her training and always shown potential.”

Bott also answered the question of whether Terminology will be troubled by the race distance of 1100m at her first start.

“She’s a strong filly and built more like a colt,” Bott said.

Tim Clark as ridden Terminology in both trial wins and retains the mount at Wyong, another significant move according to Bott.

“It’s always good to have a rider who knows a two-year-old having its first start on board,” Bott said.

From barrier four Terminology is drawn to hold the inside running over the fast Newcastle colt Jonker (gate 7), the pair likely to vie for the early lead over the other two big players Bondi (5) and the South Australian filly La Pomme De Pin (8).

La Pomme De Pin’s outside barrier in the field of eight is a concern but she handled the clockwise direction with aplomb recording a big win in the Ballarat Magic Millions last month.

She also has had the chance to get a feel for the Wyong course after arriving at the Central Coast track on Monday.

Bondi, trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, finished second in the Breeders Plate at Randwick at his only start in September.

He has been given a well-planned preparation for Thursday’s race as the Snowdens sent him to Wyong for a barrier trial three weeks ago where he finished a close second.

Race jockey Blake Shinn gave him a crack with the ship in that trial and he responded well to hit the line strongly with plenty in hand.

The Snowdens won the Wyong Magic Millions with their champion colt Capitalist two years ago and have followed the same program with Bondi.

Capitalist won the Breeders Plate on debut and did not start again before he won the Wyong Magic Millions. He went on to win the Magic Millions Classic and Golden Slipper Stakes.

The Clarry Conners-trained Skyray and Ljungberg from the Ron Quinton stable are other first starters bringing strong trial form to the Wyong Magic Millions.

Skyray has won two of his three trials at Warwick farm and Rosehill and Ljungberg is unbeaten in two public appearances at Randwick.

CHRIS SCHOLTZ SELECTS: BONDI 1; Terminology 2; Jonker 3; La Pomme De Pin 4.