Trent Edmonds says a good barrier means everything to the prospects of his colt Wisdom Of Water

Every trainer is talking about and with the evenness of the field every trainer realises that drawing out wide could spell the death knell to your chances in this year’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic.

Wisdom Of Water.

Co-trainer Trent Edmonds concedes Wisdom Of Water isn’t the same bombproof youngster Houtzen was going into the Magic Millions and says drawing a barrier is going to be crucial if he’s to back up and win Saturday’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic.

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Houtzen was able to jump from the outside gate and still win three years ago, but Edmonds doesn’t think Wisdom Of Water, who is now a $12 chance with Ladbrokes, could do the same thing.

“Houtzen was just out of the box,” he told Radio TAB’s Past The Post. “We were extremely confident all the way through with her.

“With this guy, we’re buoyed by the fact he’s in the field, but I feel a barrier is absolutely vital to his chances.

“If we draw soft (Tuesday), that’s going to be huge for him.

“I love the way we educated him at Doomben (in the trial) and got him in behind them.

“The Magic Millions race is really hustle and bustle so if he’s added that extra string to his bow in being able to settle off them that’s certainly going to aid him on Saturday.”

Connections of Wisdom Of Water after his success.

Edmonds said Wisdom Of Water’s maturity was improving, despite what was said by his father Toby and jockey Robbie Fradd on Saturday, but his ability had never been in doubt.

“Really early in the piece, when we were educating the babies, he just looked extremely sharp,’’ he said.

“The more we did with him, the better he got.

“Anything we worked him with, he was too good for. We just had to keep him mentally well, more than physically.”

■ Baylee Nothdurft says A Man To Match will run 2400m “pretty easily” when he backs up in Saturday’s Magic Millions Trophy.

“He just relaxes so well in the run, so he’s going to give himself every chance,” he said.

“He’s not a horse that fires up or gets pulling.

“If he can switch off and run the trip out good, he’s going to be really competitive.”

After winning The Wave, Nothdurft spoke of the efforts he needs to go to in order to keep his weight down, but it’s a battle he is winning.

“You have to put your body through hell and you rock up to the races sometimes with no energy, but it’s what you have to do and we get well paid to do it,” Nothdurft said.

Wisdom Of Water gets the job done at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

LADBROKES WEEKEND REPORT

BEST RESULT

Yamazaki, Race 9: Punters tried to get themselves out of with Grand Scholar and it didn’t work.

WORST RESULT

Guard Of Honour, Race 6: On a tricky day, Guard Of Honour delivered punters a rare positive result.

BEST BACKED

Epic Girl, Race 2: Her defeat at odds-on was a sign of things to come.

MARKET

MAGIC MILLIONS CUP

Gold Coast, Saturday

$5 Deep Image

$6 Vega One

$7 Chapter And Verse

$12 Redouble, Scallopini

$13 Boomsara, Constant Flight, Crack Me Up

$14 Madam Rouge, Yamazaki

$15 Irithea

$16 Invincibella, Smartedge

$19+ Others

Odds: Ladbrokes

THIS WEEK

Tuesday: Kembla Grange, Mudgee, Stony Creek

Wednesday: Rockhampton, Warwick Farm, Sandown Lakeside, Yarra Valley, Bunbury, Devonport (synthetic), Canberra

Thursday: Doomben, Wagga, Geelong, Geraldton

Friday: Sunshine Coast (night), Gosford, Port Macquarie, Cranbourne (night), Hamilton, Launceston

Saturday: Gold Coast, Randwick, Flemington, Murray Bridge, Pinjarra, Warwick, Atherton, Calliope, Home Hill, Kembla Grange, Queanbeyan, Werribee, Darwin

Sunday: Sunshine Coast, Coffs Harbour, Nowra, Sale, Benalla, Port Lincoln, Albany

THE QUOTE

“He reminds me of myself when I was about 15.” Robbie Fradd’s summation of “naughty”

— colt Wisdom Of Water after making the cut for the Magic Millions 2YO Classic.

THE TALKING POINT

The inaugural running of The Wave meeting. Pretty much a brand new race day, there was a super vibe at Aquis Park on Saturday as $1.7 million in prizemoney was distributed and more than 4000 people rolled through the gates. The meeting can only get bigger in the years to come and a Saturday that was previously somewhat of a ‘layday’ during the summer is now a genuine highlight.

THE RIDE

Baylee Nothdurft attracted rave reviews, even from as far away as Blake Shinn in Hong Kong, after a brilliant display on A Man To Match. Trainer Tony Gollan rated the ride “11 out of 10.”

THREE TO BACK

Dark Son, Race 4: Handy return and will likely face lesser rivals next time.

Fun Fact, Race 7: Might take stitching in the Trophy on Saturday after this super tough effort.

Katy’s Daughter, Race 9: Battled on very well at third run back from long break.

RISK

Anders, Race 4: A lot of market love for the Maher-Eustace youngster but was found wanting again.

THE FLOP

Grand Scholar, Race 9: Crossed comfortably enough, but never really travelled like a winner and was gone on the turn. Vets reported a slow recovery rate.

SHARP SHOOTERS

A forgettable day for favourite backers, but there were a few market hints around drifters Smart ‘N’ Sexy, Spurcraft and Grand Scholar.

MORE NEWS

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Originally published as Trent Edmonds says a good barrier means everything to the prospects of his colt Wisdom Of Water