Eagle Farm outage puts Queensland’s 2YO program under review and jeopardises Magic Millions qualification

Queensland trainers fear they will be robbed of the opportunity to qualify local horses for the $3m Magic Millions 2YO Classic after two races were moved off the program following the Eagle Farm saga.

Mishani horses made up the bulk of early two-year-old runners in Queensland last year. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography

Two-year-old racing in Queensland could be shaken up, with a last-minute review set to be finalised in the coming weeks after two early season juvenile races were stripped from Eagle Farm while it is offline for remedial works due to jockey concerns.

Queensland racing officials have already moved Toowoomba’s Pat O’Shea Plate to next year, with the race previously being used as the first two-year-old contest of the season on Weetwood Day in late September.

The first two-year-old race of the season will now be run a week later a Doomben, with trainers concerned a lack of local races could harm their chances of making the field in the $3m Magic Millions 2YO Classic in January.

Two two-year-old races were programmed to be run on Saturday October 12 and October 19 at Eagle Farm, however they have since been removed following Eagle Farm’s outage, with officials not wanting to take risks with inexperienced horses at the track for the time being.

Champion jockey turned Group 1-winning trainer Chris Munce said it was imperative that the two races were moved to either a Sunday at the Sunshine Coast or to a midweek fixture with full Saturday prizemoney in order to give Queenslanders the best chance of qualifying horses for the Magic Millions.

In a race with many MISHANI's, did anyone pick the longshot MISHANI ECLIPSE at Doomben (AUS) on the weekend? 🤣🤣😁 #volumeon#mishanimishanimishani
See Results: https://t.co/M1ABTOjbnNpic.twitter.com/Cfmwo4a1rn

— Sky Racing World (@SkyRacingWorld) October 30, 2023

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“The prizemoney situation requires that these two-year-old races need to be run somewhere, it is as simple as that,” Munce told Racenet.

“It is hard for Queenslanders to get into the Magic Millions as it is, we need these races on to give us every opportunity.

“I have had to put a few out for a break because of this, I had horses ready to go.”

Take a bow Josh Fleming! 9 out of the 10 runners in Race 1 at Eagle Farm were Mishani horses and he nailed the call! pic.twitter.com/TxCGg6yULq

— TAB (@tabcomau) October 29, 2022

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Early season two-year-old races were dominated by Les Ross and Mishani-named horses last year, with Donna Stanbridge taking over the helm as the head trainer this time around.

Stanbridge had 19 of the 21 two-year-olds that trialled at Beaudesert on Monday morning.

Last year’s Pat O’Shea Plate featured six Mishani runners in the nine-horse field.

The race is instead likely to be run in March next year.

Mishani horses made up 19 of the 21 two-year-olds that trialled at Beaudesert on Monday. Picture: Grant Peters / Trackside Photography.

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Racing Queensland’s thoroughbred racing manager Ross Gove confirmed there was a review underway into what the programming would look like in the lead-up to the Magic Millions.

“A few years ago we thought we had insufficient races for horses getting ready for the Magic Millions, so we increased that.

“We are reviewing at the moment to work out whether it is the right amount of races that are put on, the trainers association is involved in that process as well.”

It’s understood officials are going through fields from previous years to determine prizemoney required to qualify for the Magic Millions, with the last horse in the field earlier this year making the race with just one metro placing in her only start.

Originally published as Eagle Farm outage puts Queensland’s 2YO program under review and jeopardises Magic Millions qualification