AND THEY’RE OFF ... STUNNING START TO WEEK
AND the winner is ... actually, a dead heat between Surfers Paradise tourism profile and Magic Millions hype.
Hundreds of onlookers packed the central Surfers Paradise beachfront yesterday morning as the star-studded Magic Millions sales and race week spectacle took centre stage in the city’s tourism heart.
Champion jockey Hugh Bowman paraded the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton on the sand on horseback before joining fellow riders – including Argentine polo star Nacho Figueras – to race down the beach.
The pair ended up plunging into the sea straight afterwards and were both swamped off their saddles when a rogue wave knocked them over.
But it was all part of the buzz of the sixth annual Magic Millions horse run down the beach.
It immediately preceded the ceremonial barrier draw – conducted by royal Zara Phillips – ahead of this Saturday’s $10 million Magic Millions race day at Gold Coast Turf Club.
As an official ambassador, she said the momentum around the Magic Millions week was building to the point where “I don’t think we can be any more happy than we are”.
The visiting royal, expecting her second child with husband Mike Tindall, said she missing being able to jump on a horse this year “a little bit”.
“I’ll be back next year,” she said.
Thrilled Magic Millions owner Katie Page said it was a stunning event to lead into the sales starting today.
“Every year the crowd gets bigger and I was down there just looking up the beach either way to Coolangatta and up to Stradbroke, there are people everywhere,” she said.
Figueras shook off his fully-clothed dunking post-run, proving a popular hit with onlookers high-fiving people the length of the beachfront barrier.
“As we rode in this huge wave came and took us out of our saddles. The water felt good after the heat and pressure of the race.”
Bowman, riding in Saturday’s feature Two Year Old Classic one of the favourites Jonker, said the Magic Millions carnival was one of the major events in the Australian racing calendar now.
“The brand has been built up amazingly in the past 25 years, particularly the last 10 years taking off.”