Business as usual in Magic Millions week for Kirkwood

By Glenn Davis

It will be business as usual for Toowoomba brickie Stephen Kirkwood at Eagle Farm on Wednesday ahead of what could be his biggest payday of his life.

Kirkwood will start Straight Blast in the Class 1 Handicap over 1350 metres before saddling Magritte in the Magic Millions Classic at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

It will be the first time Kirkwood has had a starter in the $3 million feature.

With 16 starters to go around in the Magic Millions Classic, Magritte is 17th in order of entry for the $3 million feature but is a definite starter with the Bjorn Baker-trained Paradoxium already announced a non-starter.

Kirkwood is the son-in-law of long-time Toowoomba trainer Ron Macrae who at 85 still trains the odd horse or two.

Kirkwood has a stable of eight in work with another four in pre-training and leads a busy life as a subcontractor running a bricklaying business on the Darling Downs.

Kirkwood's wife Catherine plays a major role behind the scenes but has had to take a back seat in recent times after being injured.

“She had a stress fracture in a foot and she tripped and fell,” Kirkwood said.

“She pulled her hamstring and partially dislocated her hip.

“That happened about six weeks ago but she’s still helping out though she has been a lot quieter since then.”

Kirkwood hadn’t seriously contemplated having a Magic Millions Classic starter until the weekend when Magritte secured her place in the two-year-old feature.

“Cathy did a spreadsheet and we thought we were about 17th in the order of entry up to last Friday,” Kirkwood said.

“There were a couple who could have jumped us had they won but now we know we’ve got a spot with at least one not running.

“I haven’t had much time to think about having a runner in the Magic Millions but if we win, I’d probably get drunk for a month."

Magritte will go into the Magic Millions Classic as a maiden after being placed in three of her four starts including a fast finishing second to the Tony Gollan-trained Itchintogo in the Listed Phelan Ready at Doomben last month.

The daughter of Better Than Ready is a $34 outsider for the Magic Millins Classic after her last start seventh to the Chris and Corey Munce-trained Zip Lock in the Group 3 B.J. McLachlan Stakes at Eagle Farm on December 27.

Kirkwood has been training on and off for about 20 years and is expecting a strong performance from Straight Blast who is coming off a last start third in a 1400 metre Benchmark race at Beaudesert on New Year’s Eve.

“He was never going to beat the first two, but he put his head down as the gates opened and was left flat footed,” Kirkwood said.

“I’m confident he’ll run a was much better race this time.”