Untapped flying machine Barassi finally right ahead of return to Gold Coast: Toby Edmonds

Barassi showed he could be one of the fastest horses in Queensland on his day, but it is a matter of getting him to the races in one piece which has proven difficult for trainer Toby Edmonds.

Barassi returns to his home track of the Gold Coast on Saturday. Picture: Grant Peters — Trackside Photography.

Barassi has what not many horses do, but he has been a labour of love for trainer Toby Edmonds who could have been forgiven for thinking it’s not meant to be with the speedster which has had just three starts as a six-year-old.

The I Am Invincible entire has blinding speed and was a tearaway winner of the rich Magic Millions Maiden earlier this year, but is scarcely seen at the racetrack due to his problematic feet.

Edmonds, who recently went into a training partnership with Stephen McLean, could have one of the fastest horses in Queensland on his day, but admits it has been a struggle getting him there.

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“His feet have been a big issue, when we have them right, he is very good, but when he is feeling his feet on different types of ground, he doesn’t stretch out at all,” Edmonds said.

Entered in two races, Barassi has drawn barrier 20 (Class 3 Plate 1200m) and 16 (Class 6 Handicap 1000m), however Edmonds isn’t complaining given he drew barrier one when he collected $150,000 in the Magic Millions Maiden in the performance of the day.

“I think we have them right at the moment, so he should run well in which ever race we run him in,” he said.

BARASSI left them all behind in the $250,000 Magic Millions Maiden Plate at Gold Coast. Toby & Trent Edmonds conditioned the I Am Invincible (@yarramanpark) 6-year-old with Craig Williams in the irons.

Bet on the Gold Coast all evening: https://t.co/gTz40TU6WHpic.twitter.com/iutWO8QXTn

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 6, 2024

“I am a bit in two minds at the moment as to which race we go to, my head is telling me probably the 1000m first up, but then my heart is saying the 1200m tempo probably suits a bit better.

“He could control that (1200m) pretty easily from the front.

“In the 1200m, he might be starting to get a little bit tired 30m from home, but he ran 1100m out on the big day.

“The Gold Coast surface is really good for him, it is fresh and new and he enjoys it.”

McLean is the son of Archer Park Racing director Mark McLean and has worked both in Australia and abroad before going into partnership with Edmonds.

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“He has been working inside stables since he was 18, he is 32 now, but he has been in the UK, in the US and then with five or six different trainers in Australia,” Edmonds said.

“With (son) Trent gone and Stephen looking to branch out, I thought it’d be a good time to have a young bloke come in and share the workload a bit.

“With me at the back end of 50, he can capture that younger demographic a bit.

“He has put some good systems in place already since he started with us.”

Originally published as Untapped flying machine Barassi finally right ahead of return to Gold Coast: Toby Edmonds