Adin out to make history
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JOCKEY Adin Thompson admits Heroic Son looked more like a horse plucked from the hills rather than one ready to win the Magic Millions 2YO Classic when he first saw him but he now has full faith in the colt as he attempts to become the first apprentice to win the feature.
Thompson will have his first ride in the race for Peter and Will Hulbert after he got battered from pillar to post in the Gold Nugget at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
Having won one of the first two-year-old races in the season however, the son of Heroic Valour has enough prizemoney in the bank to secure a spot in the Magic Millions seven days later.
As the only jockey to sit on the horse, Thompson is across Heroic Son’s rise to prominence better than anyone.
“To be honest when we first got him, he looked no good at all,” Thompson said.
“Anyone would have thought we just got him out of the hills or something so I didn’t have any expectations of him. Then we jumped him out one day and he absolutely bolted in just a little 400m jump out at Eagle Farm on the dirt.
“I thought he had a little bit of ability but you never really take in much from those 400m jump outs because there has been a few win like that and then show no ability later on.
“After that we jumped him out again then trialled him and he went real good.
“Then he won his first start, which was $70,000 to the winner with the QTIS bonus, so we knew we were already close to getting into the Millions.”
Even with big-name southern jockeys making the trip to Queensland, the Hulberts stuck with Thompson and he says he will be out to repay the faith on Saturday.
“I did the trials and the work on him and Will and Pete are the most loyal people you will ever meet,” he said.
“The owners are loyal too so they have kept me on the whole time.
“It’s not my first ride on the day, I rode there last year, but it is my first time in the big race. It is good to find one that has been good enough to get us through all the stages and then finishing up in the Millions, it is exciting – win lose or draw.”