Racing royalty searching for next Black Caviar as celebrities gather for Magic Millions extravaganza

THE Queen’s racing manager, sheiks and celebrities are arriving on the Gold Coast in a $90 million quest to find the next Black Caviar.

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THE Queen’s racing manager, sheiks and celebrities are arriving on the Gold Coast in a $90 million quest to find the next Black Caviar.

The Magic Millions horse sales and racing carnival mixes high finance with glamour and even a touch of royalty. The Queen’s granddaughter Zara Phillips will be attending this year.

Zara Phillips, a regular the Magic Millions carnival on the Gold Coast. Picture: Getty Images

It all begins on Friday night with a glamorous 1920s-themed cocktail party ­followed by Ladies Day at the Bundall racecourse on Saturday.

The $4.7 million Jeep Magic Millions race day is the following Saturday. Prizemoney will increase to a staggering $10 million next year, making it the richest race program in ­Australasia.

But much of the action will happen away from the track at the horse sales from January 7-13, when turnover is expected to top the $86 million outlaid last year.

Peter Moody, trainer of the undefeated Black Caviar, was among those inspecting yearlings at the Bundall sales complex yesterday.

He usually buys about a dozen of the 1000 horses on offer and is in the market for another champion.

“That’s why you keep doing it — you keep looking for the next Black Caviar,” Moody said.

“You keep living the dream. It’s like buying Lotto tickets.’’

John Warren, who oversees the Queen’s racing and horse-breeding empire, arrives on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

Magic Millions managing director Vin Cox said he did not believe the monarch was buying via Warren.

“He looks at a lot of horses,” Cox said. “I’m not sure if the Queen is in the market at the moment but he’s a very significant buyer in the northern hemisphere.

“He’s highly regarded as a judge of horseflesh, so there will be a number of people seeking his counsel.”

Feeling the heat: Peter Moody. Picture: Glenn Hampson

If the Queen requires a second opinion on a potential buy, Phillips will be on the ground as a Magic ­Millions patron.

Other personalities at the Magic Millions will include Channel 7’s Winners And Losers star Melanie Vallejo, Home And Away’s Demi Harman and Alec Snow, as well as newcomer Pia Miller.

Myer, which sponsors the event, will have ambassadors Rachel Finch, Amanda Ware, Kate Peck and Jodi Anasta on hand.

Racing royalty Criquette Head-Maarek, considered one of the leading female racehorse trainers in the world, will be visiting the sales along with Gai Waterhouse.

Cox said sheiks and celebrities would be among the buyers but would not name names.

The late Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, died at Palazzo Versace in 2006 while attending the sales.

“We don’t put any expectation on them to buy,” he said. “No one ever says they’re going to buy something and they play their cards pretty close to their chests.

“We are anticipating some fairly good, big buys from different parts of the world and domestically.”

Actress Demi Harman is one of the many celebrities expected to converge on the Gold Coast for the next week. Picture: Cameron Richardson