Costa has a throw at the stumps
GOLD Coast trainer Michael Costa says the presence of Malahide and Phobetor in two $1 million races on Magic Millions day is a throw at the stumps as he looks to provide the horses’ connections with a mammoth windfall.
The four-year-old duo will back up from runs last week with Malahide set to race in the Fillies and Mares (1300m) before Phobetor features in the Magic Millions Cup (1400m).
Connections of the winners from each race will pocket $580,000, meaning Costa’s stable could be in for a financial haul of $1,160,000 should both get up.
Phobetor, bought for $55,000, is coming of victory in a Class 4 Plate over 1300m last week that landed him $145,000 while Malahide, bought for $85,000, finished sixth in another 1300m race on the same Gold Coast program.
“I couldn’t be happier with the way Malahide has recovered from her little piece of work this morning,” Costa said
“She was spot-on but she has a very sharp increase in her competition. She wasn’t disappointing on Saturday but was trapped a little wide and probably got weighed down by the weight a bit.
“She is just having a throw at the stumps but she couldn’t be any better. It will just be whether she is good enough to step up to the big time but we will have a crack anyway for the $1 million race.
“Phobetor is coming off a good win and backing up as well. It’s a little bit of trial and error when you back up but we are at our home track so that is the place to do it.”