Returning after protest agony proves to be a Sweet Idea for owners in Magic Millions Guineas
REDEMPTION was a word being thrown around freely after yesterday's MM Guineas, as Sweet Idea went one better than last year.
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REDEMPTION was a word being thrown around freely after yesterday's Magic Millions Guineas, as Sweet Idea went one better than she did on the same day last year.
Sweet Idea quickly overcame her wide barrier and jockey James McDonald was able to control the race and the daughter of Snitzel proved too classy, giving Gai Waterhouse a third win in the race.
Two years ago a downcast David Henderson aimed up for a Snitzel filly at the night session of the Magic Millions.
He'd just had the Magic Millions Classic controversially taken off him on protest with No Looking Back.
"We were filthy, we joked at the time we would call her Redemption,'' he said. That filly turned out to be Sweet Idea who took her prizemoney to over $1.5 million with yesterday's victory.
"She is a top line horse. If she didn't have a bleeding attack in the spring we thought she would really feature in the Melbourne Cup carnival," Henderson said.
"We actually bought her full sister (on Friday) for $200,000. That looks a good buy now.''
Henderson and his brother Luke are ticking off Australia's major races at a rate of knots, having now won a Golden Slipper (Sebring), Caulfield Cup (Descarado) and Melbourne Cup (Fiorente) with horses they share in the ownership of.
The Gold Coast real estate agents rated the Guineas win among their racing highlights.
"Winning a big race on your home track, the track we go to most weekends is right up there,'' Luke, who is a board member of the Gold Coast Turf Club, said.
Waterhouse has built a phenomenal relationship with the Hendersons, dating back to Golden Slipper winner Sebring and capped with Fiorente's Melbourne Cup win.
The combination had been desperate to win a major on the Coast. "This is exactly what racing is all about," Waterhouse said. "The Hendersons have supported the Magic Millions Sales for a long time and they deserve every success."
Waterhouse said Sweet Idea is getting better with age.
"She is a very good filly and will keep improving," she said. "She was a brilliant two-year-old and she has come back an even more brilliant three-year-old.
"Just like my previous two winners (Driefontein and Whittington), she was the best horse in the race.
"This was a filly that ran third in the Golden Slipper. Where's the horses in that race that (could run) third in the Slipper? They weren't there and she was too good."
Jason McLachlan and Slade Bloodstock's tilt at consecutive wins in the race came up a touch short, but Enquare still ran her usual honest race, battling on strongly for third.
Tinto charged in the final stages for fourth.
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