Magic Millions carnival organisers race to fix Gold Coast Turf Club track
Organisers of the iconic Magic Millions carnival are moving heaven and earth to repair the poison-damaged track, with turf experts and heavy machinery rolling in to save the $14.5m raceday.
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Operation Save Magic Millions is in full swing with interstate turf experts and machinery arriving on the Gold Coast to repair the poison-damaged track, as organisers race against the clock to have it ready for Saturday’s carnival showpiece.
The iconic event has been thrown into turmoil after a key stretch of turf at the Gold Coast Turf Club was mysteriously poisoned late last week.
It forced the 11th hour relocation of the first Magic Millions twilight meeting to the Sunshine Coast on Saturday as police launched an investigation into the suspected sabotage.
The fate of Saturday’s main $14.5m Magic Millions race day hinges on a planned drop-in cricket pitch-style turf transfer, which organisers are confident will be a success.
The costly operation is being undertaken by the same team that saved the 2022 Melbourne Cup, when a protester pumped 1000 litres of an oily substance onto Flemington track just hours before the big race.
Respected Flemington track manager Liam O’Keeffe arrived on the Coast on Sunday to oversee the salvage operation, along with experts and equipment from Victorian-based Evergreen Turf which helped save the ’22 Cup and has worked on Olympic and Commonwealth Games arenas.
A special turf-cutting machine will be used to pull up a surplus section of grass and transplant it in the 250sqm damaged area.
Excavation work will begin on Monday morning.
Officials are hopeful the replacement grass will be installed on Tuesday before the track is test-galloped on Wednesday or Thursday - the deadline for deciding if the Magic Millions raceday has to be moved to either Eagle Farm or Caloundra.
Turf Club CEO Steven Lines said he was “fairly comfortable” the race would go ahead on the Coast.
“We met with a company called Evergreen on Saturday who flew up and took a look at the most affected areas, inspected it and the plan now is to square off a section at the 500m mark,” he said.
“We’ve done that now and it will be cut out and a good bit of grass from the 2400m track will be cut out in slabs, using a special machine.
“It will then be laid in that section and will be treated in and if the weather is on our side, then we are fairly comfortable the whole thing will be right.
“They’ve done the same process at Caulfield and Flemington in the past but it is the toughest part of the tracks because it is where the pressure really comes onto the horse.”
Mr Lines said Thursday would be D-Day for the Saturday race, when the treated section will be tested to see if it will withstand the pressure.
“We will run a horse over it on Thursday and get some feedback,” he said.
“Naturally we will be working on it constantly until then and we are also having talks with the Magic Millions to pull together a contingency plan if needed.
“The Magic Millions people and Katie Page have been amazing and hugely supportive.
“We are just gutted for them, so we need to do our darnedest to make sure this comes together.”
NRL legend turned Maroons coach Billy Slater, a lifelong horseman and Magic Millions ambassador, said he was confident the Gold Coast track would be right to race.
“I’ve no doubt that it’ll be OK,” he said.
“They’ll work something out to make sure that it’s a great surface for the horses and the jockeys and it’ll be a great day - it always is.”
Slater said Magic Millions co-owners Katie Page-Harvey and Gerry Harvey had managed to salvage the twilight meeting at short notice and believed they would go one better with the main raceday by keeping it on the Coast.
“That’s what they do best - make sure they deliver for the racing fans and for the industry,” he said.
“I’ve played some big rugby league games at stadiums that have had concerts only a few days earlier.
“They can do some pretty good things these days, and I’m sure we’ll all be there at the Gold Coast Turf Club in six days time, enjoying the Magic Millions. It’ll be a great way to conclude it.”
Specialist tests are being carried out on the damaged turf to determine what chemical was used and detectives are scouring CCTV footage as part of their investigation.
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