All Gifts waiting for a slice of luck
ALICIA Willick is flying the flag for Godolphin on the Gold Coast.
The local trainer doesn’t have any affiliation with the giant horse operation but she is finding success with its former runners, bought through a connection with Godolphin trackwork rider Zoey Miller.
Among the five currently in work is All Gifts, a threeyear-old who won his latest start on the Gold Coast and who will race in the Class 1 Handicap (1200m) at Beaudesert today.
The meeting is part of the Gold Coast Turf Club’s Beach to the Bush race day, an event created due to the inability of the club to host its usual races due to the Commonwealth Games.
Willick bought All Gifts for $18,000 and a win today would mean the gelding has won enough prizemoney to pay for himself.
All Gifts arrived at Willick’s stable in prime condition last year.
A few slices of bad luck delayed what has become a fruitful first preparation in Queensland that has included a win and a second.
“He has just taken a bit of time to mature,” Willick said of All Gifts, who ran 11th at Bendigo in June last year at his final start for Godolphin .
“A few general things went wrong with him. He got a virus then whacked his leg in the box.
“Before his first start on the Gold Coast in December the attendant grabbed him by the ear and he slipped over backwards and knocked himself out.
“It took five guys to pull him out from under the barriers and he never had a mark on him.”
However, All Gifts, a son of Medaglia D’Oro and the Exceed And Excel mare Pandora, has turned a corner this year. although nature has hindered his campaign.
Willick has been forced to scratch All Gifts twice in the past fortnight due to heavy tracks but she believes today’s race will suit her gelding if the rain holds off.
“It’s been a little bit frustrating running into a few heavy tracks,” she said.
“He has been ready to race but we have been patient and hopefully it pays off.”
Willick has a knack of turning bargain buys into winners. In the past two months she has won at the Gold Coast with Kookiecutter (a $1200 purchase) and Mr Boombastic ($2500).