By Glenn Davis
Exciting prospect Ef Troop emerged as the new favourite for next month’s $2 million Magic Millions Classic following a runaway win at Doomben on Saturday.
Ef Troop jumped straight to the front and never looked in danger of defeat strolling to a 5-1/4 length win over Adelaide colt Crocket in the Listed Phelan Ready Stakes (1200m).
Sydney visitor Commissioner battled on but was clearly outclassed for third, a further 6-1/4 lengths away.
Ef Troop, a $70,000 buy at the Magic Millions sale, had his price more than halved immediately after maintaining his unblemished record and is now a $4.80 favourite for the Magic Millions Classic (1200m) at the Gold Coast on January 13.
Trainer Tony Gollan later completed the two-year-old feature double when debutante Outback Barbie finished strongly to claim the Listed Calaway Gal Stakes (1200m).
Outback Barbie went into her debut with only one barrier trial and two jump outs under her belt and further improvement is expected ahead of her Magic Millions quest.
Outback Barbie finished strongly to down Granny Red Shows by a long neck with Withersppon third, only a neck away
Both Ef Troop and Outback Barbie are by Gollan’s former star sprinter Spirit Of Boom who is making a huge name for himself in his first season at stud.
Spirit Of Boom was a dual Group 1 winner after claiming Doomben 10,000 and William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley in 2014.
Gollan is not getting carried away with either wins but expects both will improve further before their next starts in the Magic Millions Classic.
“Ef Troop might be favourite now but the market is likely to change a few times yet before the race,” Gollan said.
“I was really pleased how he did it today even though it was only a small field.
“He’s got such a high cruising speed and he’ll be even better after this run.”
Gollan said it was hard to compare his two Magic Millions hopefuls.
“Outback Barbie is a different type of horse to Ef Troop,” he said.
“She was very good today considering she’d only had a couple of jump outs and a trial.
“She’s very professional and made full use of her good alley.
“She can settle a lot better in her races than Ef Troop and she’ll take a great deal of improvement from this run.”
Racing Queensland webnews December 16