Liz Cantor on owning part of Magic Millions 2YO Classic runner Dusty Tycoon

Liz Cantor’s nerves are frayed and she has never kept such a close eye on the weather forecast she presides over. The Gold Coast Channel 7 weather presenter opens up about owning part of $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic runner Dusty Tycoon and what led to her dabble in ownership.

LIZ Cantor’s nerves are frayed and she has never kept such a close eye on the weather forecast she presides over.

The Gold Coast Channel 7 weather presenter is a part-owner of Dusty Tycoon, a chestnut filly trained by Robert Heathcote who will race in the $2 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Cantor has been to numerous Magic Millions carnivals and has been the ambassador for the main race day and most recently for The Wave, held last week.

Supplied image of Liz Cantor and Dusty Tycoon

That excitement of being involved in the day is still there but it is overshadowed by the nerves of potentially having the winner of the biggest race on the $9.5 million dollar race day.

“I feel sick,” Cantor said.

“I have been watching the weather forecast because Dusty has never run on a wet track.

“I have been checking to see if there is any rain forecast. For months I have been praying for rain and I have had to hold those prays off and for it to be dry until after Saturday.”

Cantor has loved horses since childhood but didn’t get into ownership to win big races like the Classic.

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The 37-year-old Miami resident’s close work with various racing events and the increasing pressure on the sport by animal activists had her facing a moral dilemma.

She questioned her involvement and decided ownership was the best solution in order to get a better understanding of just how these “athletes” are cared for.

“You get to see the recovery, any little niggles they have and you get to understand the horse.

“There are definitely some issues with the industry I have spotted but then there’s complexity in these issues too.

“I’m also seeing really positive solutions that aren’t getting any publicity either.”

Jockey Dale Smith rides Dusty Tycoon to victory in race 1, the Doomben Plate, during The Metro Races at Doomben Racecourse in Brisbane, Saturday, November 30, 2019. (AAP Image/Albert Perez)

The racing industry has been increasingly under fire in recent years, with the biggest races, including the Melbourne Cup, used as vessels for animal activists to condemn the sport.

A recent documentary shining a light on the amount of race horses being slaughtered was the latest to draw the attention of the general public.

“I don’t think the act of racing is the problem. From everything I have seen I truly believe that racing is not cruel.

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“Many of the thoroughbreds on track working are some of the happiest and most fulfilled horses going around.”

The biggest thing Cantor said she had discovered was the care and attention trainers have for their horses.

“Dusty’s first ever race at the Sunshine Coast, she crossed the finish line with an ear pricked forward. For me it meant more than her win.

“It meant you could see her enjoyment. She was full gallop and she is there listening to the crowd.”

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When Cantor isn’t on our television screens she can often be found at close friend and jockey Tegan Harrison’s Clagiraba property where the jockey currently has eight retired race horses.

Cantor has been exercising the retired race horses since Harrison, 30, suffered the worst injuries of her riding career when she fell during a race at Doomben on October 7.

Harrison fractured five vertebrae, her sternum, collarbone and ribs as well as suffering a concussion when she fell from Nineoneone at the 800m mark.

She had to undergo surgery to fix her collarbone.

The recovering hoop started physiotherapy last month and hoped to be given the all clear to ride again on February 2.

Injured jockey Tegan Harrison and Liz Cantor (pink top) with a horse, Tegan had a fall and Liz has been exercising the horses while Tegan recovers. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

“It’s been hard for me because I’m an active person so to lay still for so long and watch movies, it’s something a lot of people like to do, but not me,” Harrison said.

“I was forced to stay on the lounge for a while and now I can move around a bit better I am coping better.

“Liz has been brilliant because I have been so restricted. It’s great to see the horses getting paid the attention they deserve.”

Cantor recently joined the board of Transitioning Thoroughbreds a retraining program designed to find appropriate homes for retired race horses.

And while Cantor isn’t in ownership to win the biggest races, she is starting to dare to dream about a 2YO Classic win with Dusty Tycoon.

“I don’t want to speak to soon and I’m trying not to be superstitious but this could be too good to be true,” Cantor said.