Millions worth the wait
Gollan enjoys delayed Magic triumph
TONY Gollan was forced to wait an extra five days and play his best poker face for one of his sweetest moments in racing, but it was all worth the wait.
Queensland’s premier trainer feared his chances in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic may have washed away in the rain that battered the Gold Coast on Saturday, but Skirt The Law refused to let him down as she dashed clear to win the $2m feature at Thursday’s rescheduled meeting.
Usually the life of the party,
Gollan stood in almost stunned silence as he grabbed his first Magic Millions 2YO Classic, the first Queenslander to win it since Phelan Ready in 2009.
Fittingly, Phelan Ready went on to win the Golden Slipper, something Gollan now has an opportunity to do.
The famous race had long evaded him, with a run of outs stacking up, but they were put to bed on Thursday when jockey Ryan Maloney delivered a masterclass to back up the trainer’s timed-to-the-minute performance. Almost seven weeks between runs, Gollan says he was starting to doubt whether he had put enough work into Skirt The Law heading into the race, but her resounding 1½-length demolition proved otherwise.
“I didn’t show it, but I was a bit edgy having to wait a few more days with all the stuff that has gone on,” he said. “You start to have a few self doubts after Saturday, I didn’t let anyone know, but there were a few sleepless nights wondering if I had done enough with her. I talked it up like I had, but I was slightly nervous – I shouldn’t have been, she didn’t let us down.
“We had to chance her a bit, we were a long time between runs, so we gave her a barrier trial and just trust her a bit today – she didn’t let me down.
“It is one of the best races in Queensland, now we have won it. This day, we have won a lot of races on it but this race has been hard, this ticks all the boxes.
“This is one of the biggest thrills I have had in racing.”
With the race changing complexion after the secondplaced Platinum Jubilee missed the kick, Maloney positioned Skirt The Law in behind the speed, before muscling to the best part of the track in the straight.
It adds to his success on Iso
tope (2022) and Alligator Blood (2020) on the day. For Gollan, it adds another chapter to the extraordinary journey for he and mate Brian Siemsen, who bonded over their love for rugby league.