Preusker calls for votes
Wimmera people can help Horsham-bred racehorse Magic Consol compete in the world’s richest 1600-metre race in March.
The nine-year-old gelding is one of 130 horses nominated for a new event on the Australian racing calendar – the $5-million All Star Mile.
The race is built around the concept of fan voting.
People can vote online for the horse they want to see run in the All Star Mile.
The 10 horses with the most votes automatically gain entry to the race, while judges pick four ‘wildcard’ horses to make up a field of 14.
One voter will be picked alongside each horse in the field, becoming the nominal ‘owner’ of that horse for the day.
The voter assigned to the winning horse will receive $250,000, with money allocated to the other voters in descending order.
The race is based on the Japanese Arima Kinen – a race that pioneered the All Star concept.
Horsham trainer Paul Preusker encouraged Wimmera residents to vote for Magic Consol.
“It’s a pretty different concept and I think it gets more people involved because everyone can have a vote,” he said.
“There is $250,000 up for grabs for a lucky voter, so the people vote and there’s a bit of a reward for them as well.
“I didn’t think the voting was going to be as tricky as this to be honest.
“Some of the bigger horses have professional people marketing the horse and collecting votes, so it’s a bigger exercise than I thought.
“I thought the better horses would get in, but it’s not that case at all.
“It’s just what the votes are on the day.
“You need people you.”
Magic Consol qualified to run at last year’s Cox Plate, but Preusker and his owners decided not to send him.
Despite this, Preusker said the gelding had been in a rich vein of form.
In his last race – the Group 2 Dato’ Tan Chin Nam Stakes at The Valley – Magic Consol beat out highly fancied rivals such as British galloper Hartnell.
“The form around him has been sensational – they’ve all gone on to group one level,” Preusker said.
“He qualified to run in the Cox Plate but I think it was a wise decision that we didn’t compete – we all knew who the winner was going to be.
“He didn’t have more to offer at that to get behind time and the horse.
“He’s an older horse and when he’s done a good job it’s about rewarding him a bit and putting him away, then coming again.
“I was planning on running him again in March anyway and the All Star Mile just happened to be perfect timing for him.”
Preusker said if Magic Consol was it was about looking after voted into the field, it would be a huge result for Horsham racing.
“I’m rapt because it’s the first good horse to come out of Horsham,” he said.
“You’d love to be the first one to win a group one race out of Horsham.”
People who want to vote for Magic Consol can visit website www. allstarmile.com.au/profiles.html#/ horses/magic-consol.