Muswellbrook preview: Glen Milligan’s sea changers to add to their tally
Taree trainer Glen Milligan heads to Muswellbrook on Monday with two of his recent stable recruits who are thriving in the Mid-North Coast environment.
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Two of Taree trainer Glen Milligan’s recent ‘sea changers’ are geared up to add more wins to their CV’s – and more money to their accounts – as they seek to bookend Monday’s Muswellbrook meeting.
Both horses were originally housed in Sydney, one of the east, the other in the southwest, but both are now happy and thriving in their surroundings on the Mid-North Coast.
Queen Of A Hand had her first five starts for Randwick trainers John O’Shea and Tom Charlton.
Her best result for the High Street partnership was a closing second in a Goulburn maiden in early October last year.
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Queen Of A Hand was a heavily-backed favourite when she travelled to Scone on November 19 but only managed to beat two others home, finishing the best part of six lengths behind the unbeaten and untapped Churchill’s Choice.
Immediately after her Scone failure, the filly was listed online at the Inglis Digital Sale where Milligan was able to secure the daughter of All Too Hard for $19,000.
It proved to be a canny purchase on Milligan’s behalf after he pocketed the $19,575 in a matter of 45.68 seconds courtesy of Queen Of A Hand’s swift 805m Coff’s Maiden win with Teighan Worsnop in the saddle.
“We were over the moon with her,’’ Milligan said.
“We were worried it was going to be a tad short for her but she showed a good turn of foot when Teighan pushed the button at the top of the straight and she put them away pretty quick.”
Her mission on Monday is the first of seven races at Muswellbrook namely the Bengalla Class 1 Handicap (900m).
“I think she’s definitely trained on and going to the 900m suits,’’ Milligan said.
“She’ll be just parked of the speed somewhere and I am pretty confident she will run well again.’’
Despite her win coming over such a short distance, Milligan is adamant Queen Of Hand will be able to stretch herself half as far again when the time comes.
“She’ll get 1000m and then I will try her over 1200m,’’ he said. “Teighan said the other day, she had to give her a dig to stay in touch with them early.
“She will be better ridden a bit quieter because I think she will have more of a turn of foot.
“We’ll see where we jump and where we land on Monday. Teighan’s had a ride on her now so no excuses.’’
While Queen Of A Hand aims for her second win under the Milligan management, stablemate Yukan Rose is marching towards a third victory at start four for the Taree conditioner in Monday’s Summer Sizzler Benchmark 82 Handicap (1000m).
Yukan Rose was snapped up by Milligan for just $9,000 at the Inglis Digital Sale in August.
She won at Taree and Newcastle in quick succession prior to her last start third at Tamworth where she paid the price for her wide alley in what turned out to be a no-holes barred 1000m.
“Yukan Rose is one-dimensional,’’ Milligan says. “She jumps and goes quick.
“I threw her in the deep-end the other day in that 82 at Tamworth and she drew badly and had to burn more petrol than what we would have liked to cross them but I thought she stuck on very well.
“I know it is an 82 again on Monday but she’ll jump and go and give them something to chase.
“It’s just a matter of whether she can stick on.’’
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GERRY Harvey will take time out from his Magic Millions duties to cheer on three of his Muswellbrook participants on Monday alongside the six-times Country Premiership winner Brett Cavanough.
The trio of Baramul bred blue-bloods – De Luca, Chidiac and Straand Care – were passed in at various Magic Millions-run auctions with unmet reserves ranging from $25,000 to $150,000.
It is no wonder Harvey was asking ‘triple figures’ for El Luca given her value as a broodmare.
As well as being a daughter of Zoustar, her third dam is the former Champion 2YO Fashions Afield, her fifth dam is Wrap Around and her sixth is Beach Gown.
El Luca’s CV reads one as one win and three placings, her Cavanough debut coming at Muswellbrook 11 days ago when seventh of the 10 runners.
“She had my ‘green’ apprentice on and the pace came out of the race half-way and he probably wasn’t smart enough to quicken up,’’ Cavanough said from the Magic Millions complex on the Gold Coast..
“But everything lines up pretty good for that race on Monday I think.’’
Better Than Ready mare Chidiac meanwhile can stretch her unbeaten sequence to three if she can add a Muswellbrook win to her two at Quirindi last month.
“She is just an unassuming type that is just doing the job,’’ the Koscuiszko winning trainer said.
“She hops into the bridle, travels, and finds. She’s as big as a church, she’s huge.
“She is a pretty good sort. There’s not much wrong with her.”
Chidiac is certain to one-day join Baramul’s elite broodmare band based on her membership of one of Australia’s most celebrated families tracing on a direct line to the Tasmanian champion filly/mare of the early 1980’s in Bow Mistress.
Harvey and Cavanough’s lightly-raced four-year-old gelding Straand Care will be down in class when he steps out for just the second time in his career in the Pirtek Muswellbrook Maiden Handicap (1000m).
The son of Star Turn ran an honourable fifth in a field of 10 in a Newcastle 900m Maiden on December 14.
Straand Care has drawn barrier 18 of the 19 acceptors for Monday’s race but with a field allowance of 14, it isn’t as bad as it looks.
“It’s one turn there over 1000m and I think the track will be wet so I am not too sure what will happen there,’’ Cavanough said.
Originally published as Muswellbrook preview: Glen Milligan’s sea changers to add to their tally